


The Seven Curses

by Fullsun_Sunflower, kebwins



Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, Cursed, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic, Multi, Seven Deadly Sins, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-07-06 19:33:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15892668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fullsun_Sunflower/pseuds/Fullsun_Sunflower, https://archiveofourown.org/users/kebwins/pseuds/kebwins
Summary: A long time ago, in a distant kingdom, there were six unlikely people were all brought together by a common feature.Curses.A greedy servant who was blinded. A wrathful wannabe knight who cannot speak. A prideful king who can only wake by a kiss of true love. An envious earl who cannot hear. A lustful prince who has never been able to feel. A gluttonous cook who is never able to taste.Will this unlikely bunch be able to overcome their vices and undo the curses? Only time will tell…(Originally Posted on Asian Fanfics Now posted here will continue updates on both sites)





	1. Prelude

**Author's Note:**

> Please Read&Review. I love comments so don't be affraid to leave them

     In a glorious kingdom, far away, there was a servant. A servant that was considered useless and consumed with greed. He had been caught hoarding away any pretty thing his eyes gazed upon many times. He had once wandered into the forest to help the physician pick some herbs, when he wandered upon a small simple hut. Curiosity got the best of him, and he went inside the home. What greeted him was the most beautiful sight he could have ever imagined. The walls were gold and the floor sliver. The furniture was encrusted with rubies and emeralds, and the decor was shining sapphires and diamonds. With greedy hands he reaches out to the Ruby red apple that sat still in the center of the table. He picked the precious gem up carefully, quickly stowing it away in his basket. He then started to search for more things to take, stacking his basket full with the gems, throwing the dirty plants to the floor. He ignored the fearful feeling he had. His greed was far greater.  
“Cha Hakyeon” a voice says, the basket being whisked away from the servant, “You have made a grave grave mistake in taking what was not yours. I curse you. Forever blinded from your greed. Forever unable to see your precious treasures.“  
    With the witches words, the world around the servant slowly fizzled away until he was completely alone in the blackness that now surrounded him.  
The physician had founded him later that day, crumbled to the ground and staring ahead at nothing. With a heavy sigh, he took the servant under his wing and cared for him, assigning his ward to do the same.

 

    In an neighboring kingdom to the servant, the fight was his. He knew it from the bottom of his heart he knew his world was about to change. Who knew that a skinny weak peasant like him would beat the longstanding champion of this world. A smile turned at his lips as he throws his sword to the ground right next to the champion’s head. He bathes in the glory of his victory. For once, the limelight wasn't so bad. For once, his dream was in his grasp.  
“Warrior who beat the champion” the king spoke from his seat in the arena. “What. Is. Your. Name?”  
      He froze at that, for he had none. Never once had he been asked it or given it. Slowly, he opens his mouth to explain his nameless state only to have the winds pick up around him and the scenery changed.  
“Jung Taekwoon” a voice called at him as an invisible force pushes him to kneel. The name felt like his, and he knew deep down it was, as he kept repeating it in his head.  
“What a name for such a poor fellow. Shame, you made the mistake of beating my son. My Victor. You are now cursed. Cursed to kill just by speaking. You will never become a Knight, and your voice is now in the devil's hands. Cursed with the gift of wrath.”  
Fire flew through his throat as he was transported back. Everything was still the same. Like no one had ever left. Like that witch hadn't taken him.  
“What is your name boy. Speak now or be disqualified” the king growled out.  
“I... Am Jung… “ and then the world faded black as the sound of deathly screams flew through his ears. When he came to. No one was there. The kingdom had fallen. His curse was sealed.

 

    There was once a crown prince whose father passed away when he was very young, leaving him to continue his legacy. The prince grew up with a lot of pressure on him, people always telling how he should rule the kingdom when he gets old enough, what rules to follow, how he should live his life. He had learned to stay optimistic through these times, grinning and bearing it. The young prince had few escapes from his stressful life, his favorites being venting to his younger brother about it, who he loved dearly as a close friend as well as a brother, and hunting. He sometimes was able to combine the both of them, and those were always his favorite days. The king was very confident in his skills at the sport, most prideful in the fact that he never needed a bloodhound. His sense of smell was quite pristine, and he often bragged about it.  
    It was the day before his 22nd birthday, the day before his coronation. The day before he was supposed to be crowned king and start ruling the kingdom. He was hunting again, this time alone on horseback. But that day did not go as planned. Jaehwan’s horse bucked him off in fright when they crossed a certain clearing, sending him face-first into the grass. A woman stood in front of the prince, picking him up by the collar of his shirt as an invisible force kept him from moving.  
“You kept my son from his rightful place as king!” She hissed at him, throwing the now paralyzed prince to the ground, “You will get what’s coming to you! I curse you with the sins of both pride and sloth! You will no longer have use of your sense of smell, and, you will never feel energized again! Always tired… you will never know when sleep will take over boy!”  
Jaehwan felt the paralysis leave him, and shakily tried to hoist himself back up, only to fall over again, feeling his face hit the grass of the clearing before blackness took over his vision.

 

     For one commoner no matter where he traveled or what his position was something was always better than what he got. He traveled far and wide. North and South, West and East, Island to Island, Ocean to Ocean, and Sea to Sea. He traveled to all sorts of places though never settled in any of the beautiful locations he found.  
After a long time of wandering he visited what he was told to be the glorious peaceful kingdom of the west. He had been told many stories about the incomparable beauty both the crown prince and the second prince shared. He wanted to see this beauty for himself. He had also heard about the magic like vocals the crown prince. He was approaching the kingdom on foot as he could never find a horse that he loved to ride, there was always one that was better.  
     As he was walking through the woods he came across something, or rather someone. He stared down curiously at the beauty he found passed out in the woods. As he knelt down to get a closer look at this godlike man he realized that this was no ordinary beauty but the soon to be king of the land he was just heading towards. An evil thought graced his mind as he looked closer at the soon to be king. Glancing around for any sign of guards or someone who may be looking for or after the passed out king and than making sure the other was still breathing. The wanderer picked up the prince carefully in his arms and started to carry him towards the kingdom. As he reached the gate he was almost stopped by the guards at the entrance before the realised who was in his arms. With quick actions one of the guards runs to alert the queen and physician of the prince’s condition while the other leads the wander towards the physician's tower.  
     Days passed since they had arrived there and the newly crowned king had yet to awake. Nothing seemed to do it, from the smelliest of rotten foods to the favorite dishes cooked by their cook seemed to wake the bedridden prince. The people had tried everything while the queen and second prince weeped over their beloved son and brother respectively. Only a few more days had passed before they grew desperate for the awakening of the new king and one of the servants suggested a kiss from his true love may help him. The physician was the first to bash down this idea before he realized that yes this was a curse and there had been a case before where a princess could have only been awoken by her true love’s first kiss. It was then decided that a notice would be made and a reward was promised to whatever fair maiden who could wake up the king.  
“I may be of assistance” the wanderer said with a knowing smirk on his face as he held up all of the signs that had been posted around the kingdom asking for help. Those in the room squinted at him, Hongbin glaring daggers, as the wander walks leisurely over to the king’s bedside and leans down to steal a kiss. Their lips met and he fell envious of how soft the king’s felt against his own. His eyes had fallen closed during the kiss and he day dreamt a little bit until he was ripped back to reality by a quick shove that sent him flying backwards and into a wall.  
The King was awake after so long and he couldn't believe that he had been kissed by a stranger. The room around him cheered as his brother and mother quickly pulled him into a warm tight hug and the physician sighed in relief. The court however were left in awe as they stared between their king and the wanderer. For once there seemed to be no queen and there was no way the could argue against the gods. The king’s true love was a man. The man who had found him passed out in the forest.  
“Alrighty then” The wanderer groaned out as he got up from the area he had been shoved to “I’ll take my award now.”  
“You are to be betrothed to the king” one member of the court said in a very monotone voice.  
“WHAT?!!” Both Jaehwan and the wanderer shouted, their voices being carried into the farthest border of the kingdom as the got a nod in response from all the courtsmen.  
“However it is unethical for two males to marry” The priest of the court muttered “It has seemed that God has made you two lovers and we shall not go against his word. To avoid confusion though your title is going to be The Earl… Mr….?”  
“Wonshik” The wanderer grumbled out as he crossed his arms “Kim Wonshik.”  
The Wedding date had been set and during the weeks of its approachment the two betrothed got the chance to know each other. There was one request that Wonshik kept repeating throughout their time alone that was the one thing Wonshik would keep hinting towards until he finally got his wish the day before their arranged date. The beautiful soulful voice of Jaehwan filled his ears. His heart. His dreams. It was all he wanted to hear. Just and hour before the wedding he fired the current musicians as none were as great as Jaehwan.  
Moments before the ceremony, while Wonshik was getting ready for the event the scenery of his room changed to that of a forest clearing.  
“Oh dear great Wonshik” a voice sounded around him “Such a dear. Such a man… Such a Sham. A shame the king to fall for you who will never love him but always someone greater. Such a shame. I curse you Kim Wonshik. Now and forever your envious nature will shine through and you shall never hear the kings vocals ever again. The gift of envy has fallen on your shoulders and forever you must carry it.”  
And just like that the deafening sound of nothingness flooded Wonshik’s ears as he screamed mutely until the scenery changed again and he was back in his room.

 

          The beginning of this story does not start with it’s main subject. This story starts with the old king. The king before Jaehwan, his father, to be exact. You see, the king was quite well-regarded as a righteous and kind man, raising his young son well and treating his wife as an equal. There was something that no one knew though, something that he had managed to hide so well that not even the best of spies could find information upon it.  
The king was having an affair. It had started after repeatedly running into a mysterious woman in the forest, her looks exotic and beautiful, too enticing for him and his lustful urges to resist for long. After the affair had been going for some time, the woman told him that she was carrying his child. The king was immediately appalled, spilling everything to the woman and storming out. She tried to contact him for many nights after, but the king never returned to her. She then received news that the king had died, maimed in battle and dying from his wounds not long after. The king had confessed to the affair on his deathbed, and now a price was looming over the woman’s head, a price for anyone who could capture her and bring her to the castle. Driven to madness by desperation, anger, and grief, the woman sold her soul to the devil in exchange for magical abilities, hiding herself away in the forest and cursing her unborn child for his father’s sins.  
The child was born with the inability to feel. The servants and royalty of the palace just woke up one day to find their young king (about three at this time, people were running the kingdom until he was of age) shouting about how he got the new baby brother he wanted. The only things the newborn was found with was a blanket and a note explaining the situation in shaky writing. The baby never cried, never really did much of the things that a normal child did. His brother, at least, still loved him anyways. As Hongbin grew older, Jaehwan tried his best to keep his brother close and protect him from the world. The boy grew into an attractive man, with looks that could charm many and a smile that could dazzle the entire kingdom.  
Ironically, the witch’s original goal of making sure her son didn’t fall to the same lustful pattern as his father… completely backfired on her. As soon as hongbin had discovered the pleasures of the flesh, he was hooked. His looks got him anyone he wanted, and he used that to his advantage, always fantasizing about what it felt like to the other person every time he went through with it.  
Sometimes, he even got a bit of emotional pleasure out of it.

 

“You really should look into hiring him your majesties, his skills are above anything we have ever seen!” One of the recruiting servants raved to the crown prince and his brother.  
You see, the castle had been looking for a new chef for a while, as their last one had quit after the crown prince’s many complaints about how the food had smelled so bad that he had gagged. So, the princes gave the orders for them to approach this so called “culinary prodigy” and ask him if he was interested.  
Of course Sanghyuk was interested. A job at the castle is a dream job for any commonner like him. Having been taught cooking by his mother, often taking to selling his food on the street for a small income, this was a major step up for him. Once he started work at the castle, the chef worried that he would be kicked out because his cooking was way below par.  
But… the royalty seemed to love it. They seemed to have taken as much liking to the cook as his own food as well, often finding himself being invited up from the kitchen to dine and talk with the princes after he had finished preparing their meals. He had developed quite a close friendship with the two, class barriers for once not being a problem. The younger of the two had even invited him to his personal chambers once or twice… but that was something the two agreed to never speak of. Once the crown prince- well, king now- had fallen ill with some mysterious disease that cast him into slumber, he, like everyone else in the kingdom, tried his best to wake him.  
When he failed, he felt simply horrible. He had cooked so many things for the king and they all went to waste. So, in a night of frenzy to cure his sorrows, he continued to cook more. He cooked more and more but he ate none of it, he felt too sick with himself to do so.  
As he stared at all the platters before him they seemingly disappeared around him as trees grew in their place. His eyes wandered quickly around his new location as a horrid voice calls to him.  
“Han Sanghyuk” the voice growled out “What horrible murderous food. You. Should not be here. In the King’s kitchen. I am sure if he knew what you have done you’d lose everything. Such gluttonness ambitions you held in your pathetic career. From now on your gift is not with your mouth but your stomach as you’ll never fall full again and the food shall taste like the air you breath.”  
And then he was back in his kitchen. With a stomach that growled as loud as a dog whose bone was about to be taken. Sanghyuk stared hungrily at all of his food before him and quickly started to ravish it. It was only when half of it was gone did he realize he could not taste any of the wonderous flavors he loved.


	2. Chapter 1

          Jaehwan was starting to feel drowsy as confusion hit the wedding ceremony when the time had come for Wonshik to walk down the aisle. After he shared a worried glance with his brother he quickly escapes from his spot on the stage and runs to the room he knew the other was. Jaehwan pushed passed many servants that crowed the corridor and into the room Wonshik was in only to freeze at the sight. The seamstresses were trying their best to calm him while Wonshik jumped at most touches. Calmly Jaehwan approached his bride and knelt down in front of him.  
“Wonshik?” he said in a calm manner though it seemed that for once his voice held no power over the wanderer.  
“Wonshik!” Jaehwan tried again and places his hands on the other’s shoulders. This action got Wonshik’s attention as he quickly snapped his head back to Jaehwan in a startled manner.  
“Jae!” Wonshik practically screamed at the other “Jaehwan Why can’t i hear you? It’s too silent here!”  
The king winced at how loud Wonshik was being and tried his best to motion for Wonshik to become quieter as he tried to think. ‘Nothing about this makes any sense. Wonshik had been perfectly healthy only a few hours prior how is that he had lost his ability to…. That was It! That damn witch who took his smells away somehow...’ Slowly as his thoughts drifted away from him Jaehwan did as well and fell limp in Wonshik’s arms, startling the other slightly.  
Quickly Wonshik planted a kiss on Jaehwan’s lips to wake the other up again as the court pushes their way into the room, with Hongbin and their mother in tow. Jaehwan quickly snapped awake from the kiss and looked up at the other gratefully before turning to address those just arriving.  
“We must postpone the wedding” Jaehwan said quickly from the safety of Wonshik’s hold “Something has happened to Wonshik and we need to investigate. He can’t hear me! And probably everything else…. Something took his hearing and I think it might be tied to my nose.”  
“...and your fainting spells?” Hongbin added from the side with a raised eyebrow, still perplexed on how his brother prioritised his nose over his sleeping habits.  
“What’s going on??!?” Wonshik yelled as he looked between everyone, noting how their lips moved yet nothing came out. Jaehwan quickly slapped his hand over the other’s mouth to quiet him down before continuing to discuss where to look first.  
“Search this room for any sign of the witch.” Jaehwan continued as he slowly stands, pulling Wonshik up with him. “We need to see the physician. Look around and tell the guests to go home… Give them food first!” And with that he dragged Wonshik out of the room and led the way down the winding halls to the physician's towers.

 

* * *

 

“Sanghyuk” one of the knights of the kingdom yelled to the chef “We need you to gather all of the food you have made for this day! The guests need their food now!”  
The chef had stopped with a confused expression etched onto his face before he quickly nodded and took a running start to gather as much food as he possibly could into any bags he found for the guests, only to freeze at the lack of food in his once full kitchen. It was then that he recalled why he had been out of the kitchen in the first place. He was starving. Quickly his mind went on autopilot again and he wandered out of the kitchen in search of more food to eat, not caring about the task he had just been given but about food and only food. He wandered through the highest tower to the lowest level of the basement in his search for something to fill him, eating whatever he could find.  
It was in his search, that he heard a voice shout to him from the end of the hall.  
“Sanghyuk! What are you doing up here? The guests are getting antsy and wondering where their food is! I have people covering for you and entertaining them but you need to get your ass back down to the kitchen.”  
Hyuk turned to see a very irritated looking prince Hongbin leaning against the hall wall. He had mentioned food in his sentence… right? Yeah. Food. That was all he had heard.  
“...Food? Where?” Sanghyuk asked him.  
Hongbin gave him an incredulous look.  
“The food that you’re supposed to be giving the guests? For my brother’s wedding? You did make the food… right?”  
That’s when Sanghyuk was finally able to grasp the situation. He was supposed to make the guests food. He tried his best to make them food. Then… then there was this big gap where everything got fuzzy… and then he was here?  
“I… I think there’s food in the kitchen, or… at least there was? If worse comes to worse I’ll just feed them the cake, it’s pretty large from what I remember anyways.” Hyuk said with a small shrug, starting to walk back down to the kitchen.  
Hongbin had decided to follow him, thinking the chef seemed to be suspiciously out of it today, like he has been for the past few days, honestly.  
When hyuk returned to the kitchen… there was still no food. And the cake was gone too, only the platter it was supposed to be on remaining.  
“What the… I remember making the cake. Where did it-”  
“Well.” Hongbin said with a groan, obviously trying to tone down hidden anger, “I guess we are sending people home without the food we promised them. Now excuse me, I need to go expel stress before I start to scream.”  
The prince then turned on his heel and left Hyuk alone in the empty kitchen, the chef still feeling confused as to why all the food he had made was gone.

 

* * *

       
      As the prince tried to calm himself down as he head back to his room angrily, though this rarely worked for him. In all honesty the reason he was angry was because he was worried about their cook. Ever since Sanghyuk’s food couldn't wake up Jaehwan he’s been acting different. At the same time there was also something strange about the cook’s tongue but even during their argument Hongbin couldn’t place a finger on it. All he knew was that there was a weird symbol on there. The more he thought about it the more curious he became, though it would be strange for him to randomly say ‘Hey Shut up and open your mouth’ to the cook especially with his reputation. Knowing Sanghyuk like he does the other would be the first to actually hit him if he ever tried anything of the sorts with the cook. Hongbin chuckled slightly at the scene playing in his mind of him kissing Sanghyuk when he heard a small yelp coming from behind him. Quickly the prince stopped in his tracks and turned defensively to face whoever was there. To his surprise it was just a servant, though a beautiful servant at that. With a lustful look in his eyes he slowly kneels down in front of the coffee colored man and said “Hello there, did I run into you? My apologies.” as he holds out his hand to the other.  
To his surprise, the servant didn’t even accept his hand up and said “Oh don’t mind me. I was the one at fault anyway. I should have heard you coming sir” in a rushed voice as he pats his clothes down and blindly searches for the wall behind him.  
“Are you alright… Sorry what was your name again?” Hongbin asked as he grabs a hold of the servant’s hand.  
“Hakyeon!” the other said in a startled manner and tightly grips Hongbin’s hand as soon as he felt it, not that the prince noticed.  
“Nice to meet you Hakyeon. Now let’s get you somewheres safer so we are no longer standing in the middle of the hall hmm?” Hongbin said with a light smirk and lightly (harshly) tugged the blind man up. He had put it together from the way the servant didn’t recognize him to the others mannerisms that the man was blind. Once they were standing he threw an arm around Hakyeon’s shoulders and let the servant continue to hold his hand for support as he lead them back towards his room. Hakyeon interest him greatly for some reason, much more than just a conquest it seems too. Maybe the fact that Jaehwan had finally found the one was just rubbing off on him for all this love stuff. Or maybe he was just bored and needs someone to kiss. The second thought was the one that was the most likely.  
“So Hakyeon” Hongbin says once they were safe inside his room “mind telling me why I’ve never seen you on this side of the castle before now?”  
“I uh.. Ah I have been stuck in the Physician’s office until today… “ Hakyeon said, still not realising who he was talking to as they sit on the prince’s bed, hand in hand, “The king’s bride was in there so everyone was kicked out of it ‘sides the physician, and his helper ofcourse. I was getting pretty bored being cooped up in there though… Then again I do wonder what happened to her. Her voice sounds way too deep. I’m afraid she may have gotten a cold!”  
Hakyeon continued to ramble about random things and Hongbin couldn’t help but burst into laughter over the fact that Hakyeon thinks Wonshik was a girl. It was priceless to him and he continued to laugh as an annoyed expression grew on the servants lips and a hand was raised to hit him.  
“Yah this isn’t funny!” Hakyeon yelled at him in such a way that Hongbin couldn’t help but laugh more “Can’t believe you’d laugh at that poor girl on her wedding day!”  
“Sorry Sorry.” Hongbin says between snickers and stops Hakyeon from hitting him more, as much as he isn’t used to this kind of treatment from anyone he actually enjoyed it. It was good to be put in his place every now and again, even if he couldn’t feel what the servant was doing. Hopefully none of these hits would bruise in the morning, that would be difficult to explain to his brother.  
“You Honestly think that the King Jaehwan’s bride is a girl don’t you?” He asks curiously as leans slightly towards the other and holds onto Hakyeon’s hands. A light blush formed on Hakyeon’s features and the servant leans slightly back. Another pout began to forum on Hakyeon’s lips as the servant gave a short quick nod, which only caused Hongbin to laugh harder. Another swing was made at him for laughing again, this one must’ve been a hard one as Hakyeon was shaking his hand in pain after words.  
“Are you alright Hakyeon?” Hongbin asks, his laughter dying down as he looks at the servant’s hand “You should really watch where you hit. I’ve been told to have a fairly hard head”  
“Yeah… Well… “ Hakyeon huffed in response and massaged his hand lightly “It’s still not funny. I can’t really tell anyway what gender they are. For all I know they could be hideous.”  
“They are” Hongbin says in a serious tone “Poor Jaehwanie got stuck with a really ugly man as his true love. All because he woke him up. Guess that kiss had some side effects though. Wonshik can’t hear a thing anymore.”  
“Huh?” Hakyeon said with a slight gasp “Can’t hear? Oh that poor thing. I hope she- he’s all right! Also hideous? I’m sure they aren’t that bad looking… even if they’re voice was really too loud. Either way you cannot judge a book by how the cover looks. Every gem, especially the pricer ones…”  
Hakyeon’s voice changed slightly as he started to talk about the “precious stars of the earth” and the way it deepened was quite hot in a sense. It surprised Hongbin that the servant didn’t even say anything to him for saying “Jaehwanie” instead of King Jaehwan. Hakyeon was certainly an interesting guy.  
“Well…” Hongbin started, deciding that maybe it would be okay to be forward today, as Hakyeon couldn’t see, and wrapped his arms around the other’s waist, “...I can definitely tell that I have found a diamond today.”  
              Hakyeon would never let the other know that the words made a spark in his heart. He'd never let him know that for once he didn't feel like a screw up and a castaway because of his lack of eyesight. But, he had to hide this. "Tch. You found more than a single diamond. You found gold with diamond studs," he said sassily and removed the others hands from his waist.  
Hongbin smirked, finding how the other was playing hard to get kind of sexy. He leaned in closer, whispering into hakyeon’s ear.  
“You’re right… I have found much more than a single diamond… I have found a whole vault of treasure today… Truly a sight to behold.”  
Hongbin then decided to lightly nip his ear, hoping this clued Hakyeon in on his intentions. Hakyeon stuttered in his breath and tried to pull further away from Hongbin, only to end up lying flat down on the bed beneath them. Based on the softness of the covers below his fingers this was definitely the bed of someone high up. Hongbin saw how hakyeon sprawled himself out below him, knowing it looked like an accident, and gently set his crown down on the nightstand before making his way to Hakyeon and leaning over the blind servant.  
“You’re so…” He managed to get out lightly before he just couldn’t handle it anymore and stole the servants lips. Hakyeon gasped as soon as he felt the harshness of Hongbin’s lips touch and bite down on his own. It felt amazing to be kissed by the man above him though he couldn’t really figure out why it did.  
Hongbin slow pulled away from the kiss and smiled lustfully down at Hakyeon.  
“You kiss well” He muttered and stole the others lips again “I don’t think I want to stop kissing you…” another peck “So much better than anyone else at this castle”  
The kissing attack continued a little while longer until Hakyeon had finally had enough and pushed the prince away. It took a fairly strong push for Hakyeon to finally get Hongbin off of him as pinching the other barely had an effect.  
“What do you mean” he said as he sits up slightly and turns his head towards where he thinks Hongbin may be. “What do you mean by anyone else?”  
“Ah sorry cutie.” Hongbin says sheepishly as he pushes Hakyeon back down,“I probably shouldn’t have told you that. I kind of have a reputation here… for kissing people. Don’t worry though I honestly think you are the best kisser here please hun… Let me take care of you and your-”  
           A deep blush formed on Hakyeon’s face as he slaps his other hand over Hongbin's mouth to keep the prince from continuing. The actions caused Hongbin to chuckle lightly behind his hands as he places his legs on either side of the servant and slowly pushes each of Hakyeon’s hands away. With one hand he tightly holds the servants wrists above his head and the other caresses Hakyeon’s chin, coaxing it up towards him.  
“I won’t do anything to you you don’t want me to do my priceless jewel” He whispers with his face a few inches away from Hakyeon’s own face. It took only a few beats of the heart for Hakyeon to tilt his head up and bring his lips to Hongbin’s in a small reciprocating kiss. Hongbin smiled into the kiss and slowly kissing Hakyeon back, wishing he could feel the warmth the lips gave him.  
It was just when they were about to lose themselves further in the lust of the air that a loud band was heard coming from the entrance of the room followed by the many clangs of metal hitting the ground as a knight enters the room and gives a surprise halt to the sight he was witnessing. Hakyeon’s blushing grew as he turned his head away from who had just entered to hide while his company stayed above him and stared questioningly at the guard.  
“Don’t you know to knock before entering my room by now Gongchan?” The prince asked tiredly, though still not moving from his position.  
“Sorry Prince Hongbin but this is urgent” The guard said quickly, trying to get over his flusteredness “The king and counsel men are worried after not receiving contact from our neighboring kingdom to the west. No one has heard anything from them in days and King Jaehwan wants you to go and make sure everything is ok over there… My apologies for interrupting you again my prince…”  
“Can this wait until tomorrow?” Hongbin asked tiredly and slowly pushes himself off of Hakyeon.  
“No sire” Gongchan replied with a bow “King Jaehwan seemed pretty urgent about the manner when he was told about it.”  
“Alright then… I’ll be bringing Hakyeon here with me though. Tell my brother I’ll be back as fast as I can and that his worrying is probably for nothing”  
Back at the Dead Kingdom, Taekwoon’s eyes slowly blinked opened as he gasped for air to breath while trying desperately not to swallow the dust the wind had grabbed from the piles scattered around him. It had been days since he had last spoken, days since life had existed in this kingdom. He felt like crying from his loneliness but no tears could ever about for what he had just done. The world was silent where he laid as even the sound of a pin dropping would be deafening to his ears. No bird flew over head or bug buzzed in his ears. Taekwoon was alone in his suffering.


	3. Chapter 2

Wonshik grumbled as he was poked and prodded at by the doctor who was trying to figure out what was wrong with him. It had been going on for over an hour and he was getting really tired of everything. He stared silently at Jaehwan when the doctor finally turned to say something to the king, something that Wonshik was so envious of the other being able to hear it and not him. It was him with the problem so why can he not hear the problem and it has to be told to his fiance? As far as Wonshik was concern only he should be the one to know about it.  
“Well” The Physician says to the king “He is most definitely deaf”  
“Yes we know that already Junghwan” Jaehwan said is a slightly irritated voice “How did it happen?”  
“I have no clue sire” Junghwan says as he checks over his notes “His ears are perfectly healthy and he has had no injuries that would have caused this sudden lost… My best guess would be… Something supernatural had caused it. He does have a strange mark behind one of his ears”  
“Something supernatural?” Jaehwan repeats and thinks quietly to himself as he hits his nose lightly “Could it be that witch I ran into in the forest? The one who took my sense of smell away?! I’ve got to go out there right now! She needs to reverse this curses on us”  
“My King calm down” Junghwan said and quickly puts his hands on the others shoulders to help calm him “Right now what you need to do is help Wonshik adjust to his lost of hearing. Imagine how he’ll feel if you just left him alone to go on this quest”  
“Feel?” Jaehwan said and puffed out his chest as his lips turn in a light pout “I’ll be there and back in no time Junghwan! No witch will escape my sight! I swear it”  
A smack was heard coming from the physician as he face palms to what Jaehwan had said. The king’s prideful actions always got the better of him even though it was obvious to most they’ll only do harm. He sighed loudly and stared with a done expression at Jaehwan for a good few minutes until there was urgent knocking on the door.  
“New patient probably.” Junghwan mumbled and tore his gaze away from the king “Jaehwan there are books in the back that should help you and Wonshik with communication while I help this patient read them.”  
“But Junghwan!” Jaehwan protested only to be casted an angry glare. As quickly as he could the young king stood up again and pulled Wonshik with him to the back room.  
“The language is called Dactylology!” Junghwan called to the two as they left before he opened the door to see what was going on.  
“Junghwan” The guard says in a hurried voice as he quickly pushes his way through the door with a man passed out in his arms. The one passed out was quickly put down in the examination table.   
“One of his assistants found him passed out in the kitchen” The guard explained “He hasn’t been responsive to anything….”  
Junghwan nods thoughtfully as he starts to examine Sanghyuk. It confuses him as well what had happened to the cook though after a while the physician finally comes to a conclusion, though even that conclusion makes no sense.  
“Sanghyuk seems to be very malnourished” Junghwan explains and jumps when Jaehwan barges out of the back room when he spoke the patient’s name.  
“Malnourished?” the king says in shock “How… How is he malnourished? He’s the cook! He can eat everything he makes there is no way he…”  
“Jaehwan please calm down” Junghwan said, knowing full well how protective the King and Prince were of the cook “He’s malnourished and yes while it doesn't make sense the evidence is there. His skin is extremely cold to touch… Not to mention the bite marks on his arms… Almost like he was trying to eat himself… And this bruise here on his elbow… I treated it days ago and by now it should be healed fully but its not…”  
The physician continues to point out more of the symptoms of malnourishment on Sanghyuk in order to explain it to the king. He forced the cooks mouth open to examine him further only to pause at a strange mark that seemed to have found its way onto Sanghyuk’s tongue. The mark was a six pointed star with a line in the middle of it and circles and other shapes surrounding it.

Curiosity got the best of Jaehwan when Junghwan had stopped explaining what was wrong with Sanghyuk and he peered down at the cook, gasping slightly at the mark that was on the dried tongue of the cook.  
“Wha… But how?” Jaehwan says in disbelief “Thats… Thats the same mark that Hongbin has on his hand! How… Why is it on Sanghyuk? Hyuk doesn’t even know about that! Hongbin always keeps that hand covered so… How is it on his… his tongue?”  
“I don’t know my king” the physician says and quickly pulls away from Sanghyuk to grab one of his notebooks from the shelf. “Wonshik has the same mark behind his left ear… A servant I had working under me also came back with the mark on his right eyelid… Right after he became blind…”  
“Wait… could it be… that were this appears on those who have lost a sense?” The king says with a gasp and quickly tilted his head back and started to flair his nostrils “I must have on in my nose! Junghwan look!”  
Quickly the King was hit upside the head by the physician before the latter returned to writing notes inside his notebook and tossed a potion at Jaehwan “You don’t have one in your nostrils. And even if you did I’d never be able to see it…. Give this potion to Sanghyuk It should refill his stomach quickly so we can talk to him about what’s going on.”  
Jaehwan quickly did as told and spilled the fluid into the cooks mouth. He knew what the potion was for and scrunched his nose up at the memory of the time he had to take it for when he’d forgotten to eat for many days. This was one of the times he was grateful for his lack of smell, he’d never be able to survive this long in the physician’s ward if he had it.  
The cook hungrily snatched the bottle from Jaehwan as soon as the first drop hit is tongue and quickly sucked it all down.  
“Ah Sanghyuk Stop that” Junghwan said and quickly took the now nearly empty potion back “God… You weren’t supposed to drink that much! Only one sip refills your stomach entirely.”  
Sanghyuk blankly stares at Junghwan for a few moments before shaking himself out of his daze. He groaned happily and patted his stomach as he looks around the room confusedly.  
“Why… Why am I here?” he asked finally  
“You passed out from starvation Hyuk” Jaehwan says in a cold manner as he crosses his arms “Care to explain why you haven't been eating?”  
“What no!” Sanghyuk says quickly to defend himself “I.. I Have been eating! I haven't stopped eating! The kitchen is completely bare cause I can’t stop eating!”  
“Sanghyuk” Junghwan says interrupting the young cook from continuing his defense “Sanghyuk have you ever been somewheres strange… Like a forest of some sorts and have no memory of getting there?”  
“I…. Yes” he says with a small nod as he looks down at his lap “When Jaehwan was woken up…”  
“Did she say anything?” Jaehwan quickly cutting Sanghyuk.  
“She? It was just a voice in that clearing” Sanghyuk said looking confused at Jaehwan “She said something… something about gluttony”  
“Gluttony?” Jaehwan says just as confused as Sanghyuk was when he spoke “Why Gluttony? What is gluttonous about you? I mean when I met her she said stuff about Pride and Sloth but…”  
“Seven deadly sins of man” Junghwan says thoughtfully, interrupting them both “Jaehwan bring Wonshik here I need to ask him something”  
Jaehwan raised an eyebrow at Junghwan’s request but still followed it. He carefully went back into the back room and grabbed Wonshik’s attention from the looking glass towards him. The wanderer had done a pretty good job of learning dactylology by himself and was so focused in practicing that he only noticed Jaehwan when the other’s fingers guided his chin towards him and stole Wonshik’s lips. Jaehwan had started to feel tired again and he didn’t want to fall asleep just when they were starting to figure something out. Once he pulls away a silent confused look etched its way onto Wonshik’s face. Jaehwan laughed lightly at the expression and gently pulled on Wonshik’s arm to lead him back towards the front of the room. Once there Junghwan passed a new notebook to Wonshik with “This is for you to communicate with those who don’t know dactylology and for us to communicate with you” in it. He read the words carefully before giving Junghwan a quick nod to show he understood and handed it back to the physician. He wasn’t too pleased with having to learn all these new things that no one else has to know just because he was cursed.  
He grumpily took the notebook back and read over the new question on the page:  
“Have you been transported into a forest clearing before you lost your hearing?”   
Wonshik looked at the message and looked back up at Junghwan. He repeated doing that a few times before he finally nodded and handed the notebook back so a new question could be added to it. This process was extremely long and boring for Wonshik and he crosses his arms angrily. He stared silently for Junghwan to be finished writing out a new question and angrily started to read it.  
“You seem to have been cursed like Sanghyuk, who seems to now have a bottomless pit and no taste buds and a servant named Hakyeon, who as been blinded, has been, by a witch who seems to have been finding those who have committed one of the Seven Deadly Sins of man. Or at least that's the theory as Sanghyuk said a disembodied voice told him he has gluttonness ambition. And When Hakyeon was here he said the voice told him he’d be forever blinded from your greed. Did a voice ever tell you anything when you were in the clearing?”  
Wonshik stared at the words and suddenly felt a twitch of anger coming in to him. How could it be that he wasn’t the only one met by this witch? It should have been only him? And how come the cook got such an easy curse? He’d much rather have a bottomless pit than a silent world.  
“Envy” He loudly and reluctantly “She said I had an envious nature” 

It had been an hour since Hakyeon and Hongbin had left the castle and they had already had to send one of the horses they brought home since it was way too dangerous and exhausting to have Hakyeon ride his own horse Currently Hakyeon was sitting in front of Hongbin as they share the saddle and the horse the other had ridden was tethered to Hakyeon’s wrists, carrying their essentials. Each trying to get comfortable with the arrangement and the between them during their long ride. Each attempt Hongbin makes at a conversation fizzles into nothing as Hakyeon doesn’t respond to him. The servant was too wrapped up in his thoughts to even notice the sounds, though who could blame the man he just found out he almost slept with the prince of the castle and had done something even worse which was hit the royal man. That sound that he had heard ,when they were in the bedroom, the glorious metal hitting wood sound must have been the prince’s crown. He knew he prince wasn’t wearing it currently so he’d have to wait until they get back to the castle for him to take it. That crown… God Hakyeon could just about picture its beauty but he knew he shouldn’t be thinking about that. Especially not in the princes presence, plus he had other things to worry about until then. Like how the other’s crotch rubbed against his back with each step the horse made, the fact the prince had kissed him and almost undressed him, and how much pain his face was in from when Hongbin forgot to tell him to duck when they rode separately. And now the prince was practically back hugging him and resting his head on the servants shoulder just so he could see the path way and stear. To say the least Hakyeon’s face was redder than a cherry and hotter than the well tone chest against him.   
“S-sire” The servant stuttered out finally breaking the silence that had followed them for nearly 6 hours into the ride, they had stopped to let the horses rest an hour every few hours. “Why… Why didn’t you tell me you… you were the prince?”  
Hongbin’s breath hitched at the question and he side glanced the nervous servant before lightly kissing Hakyeon’s cheek “Because… you, You would have been afraid to be yourself if you knew... so please come back to me my gem.”  
“You’re so cheesy you know that right?” Hakyeon said feeling like he didn’t get a straight answer from the prince, “Why didn’t you tell me… Please answer honestly Prince”  
“If I had known that this was how you were going to treat me after you knew Hakyeon I would have made that guard stop before he ever spoke my name. You are a stubborn man Hakyeon.” the prince responded, trying his best to keep a straight face as he spoke.  
“Me the stubborn one?” Hakyeon said, letting his true nature sign through “You’re the one dead set on having us ride the same horse!”  
“There’s the sassifrace that once appeared oh so long ago” Hongbin says with his angelic laugh lingering in Hakyeon’s ears “Let’s be equals Hakyeon. You’ve already hit me enough times and are not yet in the dungeons for it.”  
“Fine” Hakyeon said finally giving in the the butterfly kisses that Hongbin’s eyes gave him whenever he blinked “How much longer are we going to have to ride anyway? My butt is getting sore”  
“If we had finished earlier your butt would be numb” Hongbin thought to himself as he licked his lips “We have about a day left. We’re going to stop for the night soon and eat the little food they were able to give us… I’ll fish and you feed the horses ok?”  
“Yeah ok.” He says figuring that would be an easy task for him “How much longer till dusk?”  
“About… 3 more hours… There should be a clearing for us to sleep in coming up towards the second hour.”  
Hakyeon nodded at that response and fell silent in his thoughts again.  
After a few more hours passed that was less awkward and less silent than a first few they finally found an area to hunker down for the night. It was by a small creek that Hongbin was able to fish out of and still keep an eye on Hakyeon while the servant carefully tied up the horses to a tree near the creek the best he could and fed them a few oats from the bag they had brought with them. The horse’s leads were loose enough that they were able to go to the water to drink and had been carefully untacked by the prince the moment the two got off of them. While Hongbin fished Hakyeon slowly stumbled around the new environment in search of logs to build a fire out of just so he could be useful to Hongbin and as soon as he got a nice pile going he even fixed up a bed for the both of them. His hands were bruised and sore from when he tripped, ran into things and when one of the horses accidentally bit him. His legs were also sore from the long ride and the constant tripping he faced. Once everything that he was able to do was out of the way he tiredly fel his way to Hongbin and sat down beside the prince.  
“Done already?” Hongbin said in a joking manner “That didn’t take ages now did it?”  
“Oh shut it you” Hakyeon said, his tiredness making him uncaring to the presence he was in “I heard you laughing whenever I stumbled you brat.”  
“If you could see yourself and they way your body moved you would have laughed too” Hongbin said with a smirk before turning his attention back to fishing “I’ve almost got enough for both of us so just stay awake a bit longer and.. Maybe find good poking sticks”  
Hakyeon didn’t need to see to cast the coldest glare the prince has ever seen in his life while the servant snarled at him and huffed before standing up and completing the what would have been simple task.  
“Oh come on Hakyeon didn’t you say you were tired of being babied?” The prince called after the pouting servant and was quickly flipped off by the other. Or well would have been flipped off it the other didn’t face the wrong way when he was doing it. Another laugh fell from the prince’s lips and quickly he returned his attention back to fishing.  
Around an hour passed after that interaction and the fish that had been caught were finally nearing the end of their cooking. The two had ate the food well once it was done and from then on they curled up together by the fire. They didn’t care about keeping watch over each other for the night for even though bandit were amidst in the forest for some odd reason not even the crickets or cicadas chirped where they slept. Hakyeon was also a light sleeper so even the most simple of sound of a human approaching them would startle him awake and thus wake Hongin up to fight the men the dared approach them. The fire and creek slowly lulled the two to sleep as the tiredness from the days events tugged at their eyes.  
The next morning brought them a peaceful day of more getting to know each other as they slowly reach their destination. Hongbin was shocked by the webs that appeared on the opened gates of the kingdom’s wall, like it hadn’t been shut in a long time. He grew even more shocked by the lack of activity in the usually busy town and how it had seemingly been deserted. Nothing he could think of could have caused this desertion in such a month. He was shocked to the core by how the once prosperous Kingdom was now taken over by cobwebs. He had the horses trot up to the town square and quickly hopped off of them. Once he was off he helped Hakyeon down from the horse and tied both of them up by a post.   
“Are we here?” Hakyeon asked in a confused voice once they were all set to explore “This doesn’t sound at all like you told me it would be…. I just hear us”  
“This isn’t what it should be” Hongbin says in a serious manner “Stay close to me Hakyeon. We need to find out what happened here and find it out fast”  
The servant nodded quietly and let Hongbin lead the way. Hongbin kept one hand on his sword at all times as he searches for answers. He remembered that sometimes the King would host tournaments that require everyone to go to prayed that that was were they all were and nothing had actually happened to his kingdom’s alley. Leading Hakyeon towards the Tournament his fears came true that that was not the case at all. The guards that guarded the arenas walls weren’t there and there was no loud noises of people cheering nor the King giving instructions to the competitors. It was just silent. An eerie silence that covered the whole grounds. Something bad had happened here and they needed to find out what it was. Slowly he lead Hakyeon in through the arena’s doors, the servant jumped at any movement that was made around them.   
“Anyone here?” Hongbin yelled as they exited the tunnel to the arena’s center. He of course got no response from anything as it was nothing but a bearing land with piles of dust everywhere. In his shock at the scene he let go of Hakyeon’s hand and treaded out further by himself. Each seat he saw that would usually have someone sitting in it if this were a tournament was filled with ashes. Where the guards would stand guard was nothing but ashes, armor and weapons. He knew right then why the seats had been filled with ashes but there was nothing that could have possibly caused this. A loud yelp was heard coming from Hakyeon that caused Hongbin to quickly tear his gaze away from the scene and back to his companion. The first sign of life besides them in this kingdom was standing tall and glaring straight ahead at Hongbin with a sword hovering over Hakyeon’s throat. Hongbin quickly put his hands up in response and tried his best to figure out what the man wanted. He could tell from the dirt on their attacker’s cheek and the poor shape the sword was in that he was probably a peasant and the look in his eyes was that of fear.  
“We are from Starlensea. The Kingdom East of here” Hongbin said in a calm yet firm manner “I am the Prince of that Kingdom and who you have in your arms is my servant. Would you kindly let him go? We mean you no harm.”  
Silence only greeted him and a glare from the peasant that could rival and destroy the glare Hakyeon gave him last night.   
Hakyeon reached up shakily and held onto the arm that was holding on to while the man and Hongbin had what seemed to be a never ending staring contest. He sighed slightly he heard Hongbin try to intimidate the other with titles but he knew that wouldn’t get the man to let go of him. Carefully he turned around in the peasant’s arms so he was now facing him, he had a feeling from the way the man’s heart raced in his chest that he was just doing this out of fear.  
“Calm down please?” Hakyeon says in a soft motherly tone “Nothing is going to happen to you you have my word about that. Now just relax. That prince over there is just as scared as you are.”  
These words had the effect that Hakyeon wanted them too. Carefully the man loosened his hold on Hakyeon and lowered his guard. Hakyeon was just about to leave his side when he was suddenly pulled back into a tight hug. Hongbin made a sound of disagreement at the sight of the hug and he could tell that the other’s arms were crossed from that noise.  
“Hey” Hakyeon said after a few minutes of hugging “You’re going to have to let me go ok? And explain what happened here”  
The silent man only took a few minutes to reluctantly let go of Hakyeon but stayed close to the servant. Hakyeon lets out a quick sigh and tries to blindly make his way over to Hongbin to the best of his ability, ended up meeting him at the halfway, or one third way point between them.  
“You alright Hakyeon?” The prince asked in a concern manner and glanced wearily at the one who had held Hakyeon captive. Once he was finished making sure his companion was alright did he let out a sigh of relief and turn his attention fully to the man that was with them.  
“What’s your name? What the hell happened to this place? Where the hell is everyone? Where’s King Seokjin?” Hongbin drilled the man as he pulled Hakyeon behind him in a protective manner. Ofcourse the peasant continued his silent way of staring in between them before pointing towards the stands were the royalty usually sit to watch. Hongbin followed the finger up to where Taekwoon had pointed and say a glint of gold in the dust pile that took the King’s seat.  
“They… They’re gone?” He says in shock and looked back at the silent man “Are you… Were you here when this happened?” A nod was Hongbin’s only response to this and quickly the prince put everything together. Something horrible had happened to this kingdom. Something not of this world and the man had born witness to it. He had been spared from whatever had done this but in turn lost his voice from what had attacked them. It was then Hongbin saw the mark on the man’s neck. A simple symbol that he knew well as it marred his own hand with it.   
“Where did you get that mark?”


	4. Chapter 3

Junghwan nodded at Wonshik’s confession, not really surprised that the man’s curse was envy considering what Jaehwan had told him about the bride. Hyuk, however, was shocked by it though he stayed quiet as he didnt know how to ask Wonshik why he would be cursed with envy.   
“Jaehwan” Junghwan said “What is your curse?”  
“She said I am cursed with pride and sloth from my father” Jaehwan said after a few moments “Though it doesn’t make sense why Hongbin was cursed. He’s been cursed since he was born and what curse would he even have? The only ones left of the seven deadly sins are Lust and Wrath correct? He isn’t angry all the time and there is no way he could be lust. He’s too awkward.”  
“Well…” Junghwan and Sanghyuk said at the same time and glanced at each other before looking away in embarrassment. Wonshik squinted at all of them and leaned on Jaehwan with his arms wrapped around his waist and head resting on his shoulder. He wasn’t sure what was being talked about but considering the look Junghwan and Sanghyuk shared he wanted to know.  
“Well what?” Jaehwan said with a bit of anger “You and I both know that it takes a lot to get Hongbin angry at a person. And you also know that our father was a loyal man and he would have never strayed from the queen of Starlensea.”  
“Yes We know that Jae please calm down your royal pride is showing” Hyuk said with an eye roll and was lightly hit by the king. Wonshik whined slightly in Jaehwan’s ears at the attention Sanghyuk was just given, even if it was violence. Jaehwan glanced over at Wonshik and lightly patted the other’s head, calming down immediately when he did so. Wonshik smiled in a pleasing manner at the attention and Junghwan and Sanghyuk quickly shared another look together why sticking their tongues out at the grossness of the couple.  
It took awhile but eventually the physician was able to convince the King and wanderer to go back to studying dactylology so he could have peace and quiet while he makes Sanghyuk more potions to help him not go crazy over hunger. The cook watches closely from where he sat and silently wondered what was to become of him now that he cannot taste his food.  
“Hongbin’s curse is definitely lust isn’t it?” Sanghyuk asked quietly as he wearily glanced at the room Wonshik and Jaehwan were in.  
“Yes” Junghwan said as he measures out an ingredient and stirs it. “He’s been with practically half of the castle’s staff including you and I apparently.”  
“Yes though that was the only time he was with me” Sanghyuk said “And it was horrible I never want to have sex again… I don’t understand why most of those who have done it with him say he’s a god in the sheets”  
“You have your taste and they have theirs” the Physician says in response “Plus you’ve never shown interest in sex from what you’ve told me. Though that didn’t stop you from falling into his bed twice”  
“He promised me both positions and since I didn’t like being under him the first time he let me above him.”  
“And you still ended up dissatisfied. Maybe you just aren’t meant for sex. There are people like that… You have always been more interested in food anyways”  
“Which I can no longer enjoy like I used to”  
“Yeah yeah I know”  
The two sighed in unison and went back to what they were doing before. Sanghyuk boredly watching the shadows grow and condense from the embers warming the pot for his potion and Junghwan putting the final touches on it.   
When it was finally finished the physician handed one to Sanghyuk and told the cook to get some rest while he blew out the candles in the study room. Both Wonshik and Jaehwan had already passed out from their studies and were curled up as close as they could be together.

“Nope nothing” Hongbin said as he returned to the two he’d left by the arena. “Everything is really gone.”  
Hakyeon looked at him with a scared expression while their new companion’s face grew more depressed and tightly gripped his weapon. Hongbin gave the man a pitying look and gently went to pat his back to give him comfort over the lost. As the prince did so he stared more at the mark on the others neck and tried to figure out what it meant for them.   
“Hey uh…” Hakyeon said to Hongbin and held onto the strangers arm, just so he knew that the silent giant was still there “What should we do now since no one is here?”  
“Well… We should take back what ever food we can get for the ride home” Hongbin responded and tried his best to resist giving Hakyeon a surprise kiss, the mood wasn’t a good one to suddenly do that, turning his attention back to the silent man “You can come with us of you want… Though… We really need to call you something so we can get your attention easier”  
“Oh right he can’t speak…” Hakyeon mumbled “Can he write?”  
The peasant shakes his head in response to Hakyeon’s question and Hongbin was quick to translate it for the servant.  
“Man this is going to be annoying” Hakyeon mumbled “I mean not cause of your lack of speech… I just can’t see so.. “  
“Hakyeon you’re making it worse” Hongbin said with an eye roll  
“Be quiet you” Hakyeon said and quickly the two started to bicker with one another, ending with both of them received a light knock upside the head from the man they forgot was there.  
“Ow” Hakyeon said and rubbed his head lightly, though it didn’t hurt that much. Hongbin didn’t react to it and just glanced back at the stranger to see what he wanted. Quickly the man motioned them to move away from him and give him some space, which Hongbin quickly complied to do and dragged Hakyeon over with him. A huff of air came from his lips as he stood up and motioned for the two to follow him. He lead them into the castle and down a set of stairs that Hongbin had to carry Hakyeon down as the servant was to afraid to go down them himself. Finally the trio reached where the stranger wanted to show them and to their surprise it was the storage room of the castle, where all the food is stored.  
“Is this your way of saying you’ll come with us?” Hongbin said with a light smirk at the man, which earn him a quick eye roll and than a nod of the head.   
“Where are we? Why does it smell good here? And did he say yes?” Hakyeon said as he tries to escape the prince’s arms.  
“Yes he did and we are with food” Hongbin said and gently put Hakyeon down “Don’t eat all of it and put some in the bags by the stairs.”  
Hakyeon glanced towards the sound of Hongbin’s voice with a raised eyebrow while their new companion quickly grabbed the bags that the prince pointed out and handed one to Hakyeon. The servant thanked the man but before he could do anything the prince pulled Hakyeon back to him and leaned in close to whisper something that their new companion couldn’t hear  
“We really need to come up with a name for him” Hongbin whispered in Hakyeon’s ear, his fingers intertwining slowly with the others  
“Don’t you know if you name something you’ll get attached?” Hakyeon said in a monotone voice, trying to pull away from the prince so he could help, not that he would be of much help “Let go you’re holding my arm too tightly”  
“Oh sorry” Hongbin said and loosened his grip ever so slightly “But seriously we need a name for him cause he seems very uncomfortable whenever we touch him. And it’ll be easier for you to get his attention cause if you just say HEY! You’d get both of ours”  
“That is true…” Hakyeon said after he gave it some thought “But what exactly are we even going to call him? What does he look like?”  
“He has a long nose… Not like Jaehwan’s nose…. Kind of like a horse’s nose…. Though his eyes are frightening and intriguing..” Hongbin said, trying his best to describe the peasant, though he trailed off the moment he saw the one they were talking about staring at them with an eyebrow raised. Quickly Hongbin clenched his jaw and took the bag from the servant’s hand, whispering “We’ll make one up later” into Hakyeon’s ear and kissing it lightly before walking away from the tense aurora the stranger gave out. Hakyeon shuddered slightly from the kiss and a chill he felt formulating in his bones that he wasn’t sure what it was from, he blamed the deceased for the feeling of course as there was no way the new commer could have given off such a strong feeling of death.  
Hongbin sighed slightly as he worked on filling the bags they found along the side of the peasant. He would have normally gotten this job done faster, except he kept wanting to watch the other’s quick and beautiful movements. His eyes kept trailing down and along the man’s back and he tried again to get a good look at his neck so he could see the mark but ever since the prince had called it out during their first meeting he had kept is pretty well out of view and put is hands over it whenever he noticed Hongbin’s eyes lingering or a stutter in the other’s movements. An egg cracked in his hand as he tried to pick it up and the yoke slowly oozed out over his pants and some of the food that they had not packed up yet. The stranger surprisingly noticed it very quickly and tore apart the cloth he wore for clothes to clean the yoke up. The proximity that they were now in was too close for the man comfort by his body language as he completely freezed in his cleaning process and squated there staring into Hongbin’s eyes. A smirk grazed over the prince’s lips as he knew now was the perfect time to steal a kiss, though something inside of him convinced him against it. He wanted to know more about the man before him and for once he didn’t fall for his lustful needs, plus he still wanted to try Hakyeon as well as they had gotten rudely interrupted that day. As carefully as he could Hongbin pulled away from the currently frozen statue and mumbled something about them having enough food for now before grabbing a hold of Hakyeon’s arm and pulling the servant up the stairs with him. The prince wasn’t even sure of the man was behind them as they reached the entranced to the castle, which ultimately he wasn’t when Hongbin had glanced back. Throughout their walk back out Hakyeon was confused and Hongbin was silently lost in his thoughts as they waited for the stranger to join them.  
“Leo” Hongbin suddenly said loudly, startling the poor servant as that was the first indication he had had to who had pulled him up the stairs. Hakyeon probably jumped at least five feet in the air at the sound of Hongbin’s voice and angrily necked chopped him for the startle. Hongbin laughed at Hakyeon’s reaction to it before he continued with what he had started to say “That’s what we should call him. We should call him Leo for his eyes are as fierce as a Lion’s roar”  
“Heh He must be handsome than” Hakyeon mumbled to himself “Did you bring the food up with you or did you leave it all down there with him?”  
Hongbin looked offended by both the comment and the question, not that Hakyeon could tell, before his face morphed into the realization that not only had they left the stranger down there but now their food was down there as well.   
“I uh… I’m sure he’ll bring up with him” Hongbin said slowly and only got a raised eyebrow from his servant.

Slowly but surely Taekwoon awoke from whatever trance he had fallen under.Slowly he stood up and noticed that the so called prince and servant were no longer down there with him. A tired sigh escaped his lips as he questions whether or not the two had actually been there all along or he was finally going insane from loneliness. Slowly he stood up and carried the bags that had been left there tiredly up the stairs, anger festered with in him as he fought back the need to scream and hit something but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. Instead Taekwoon just walked towards the entrance of the castle with two bags of food in each arm and clenched teeth.To his surprise when he was at the exit it the two were there waiting for him, well kind of. Hongbin had pulled Hakyeon into a deep kiss for some reason that Taekwoon couldn’t understand but as soon as he had seen them relief flooded into his veins and he quickly dropped the bags that he was holding and ran over to the two, to pull them into a tight hug. The two gasped and separated at the sudden hug and Hakyeon jumped in a startled manner, though he eventually returned the hug Taekwoon had surprised them with and Hongbin did the same and a laugh escaped the prince.  
“Sorry for disappearing on you Leo” The prince said as the hugged continued, he had tried to pull away but Taekwoon had just held onto him tighter. Slowly the silent man looked up at the two of them, his eyes watering silently as a confused expression on his face. The way the other looked tore at Hongbin’s heart as he silently swore to protect the peasant from all the evil in the world.  
“I hope you don’t mind that we call you Leo” Hakyeon said in a calming tone and gently rubbed his fingers through the long hair Taekwoon bore so he could feel the other shake his head. Taekwoon honestly didn’t care what these two called him he just never wanted to feel alone ever again.   
“By the way did you happen bring the food up with you?”


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smut

The trio had gotten a late start the day they all planned to leave. To Hongbin and Hakyeon Leo seemed a little bit reluctant to leave the fallen kingdom that he’d grown up in but that was actually not the case, though he was grateful that the two allowed him to leave on his own terms. Leo actually was just worried about going to Starlensea, he didn’t know much about the neighboring kingdom nor the ruler of it. All he knew was that it was his king’s Allies. He did hope that the ruler of Starlensea won’t make him speak like King Seokjin did because he would much rather not like a repeat of that. When they had finally left the fallen Kingdom the sun was close to setting so they only got a little ways to Starlensea before it had became too dark to travel. They silently set up camp together, Leo actually volunteering to do most of the setting up and did do most of it to the two’s surprise. Hongbin and Hakyeon were grateful for the other’s volunteering though as it meant that they could focus more on eachother. Even once the camp was set up and they were all in respective sleeping arrangements, Hongbin and Hakyeon sharing a blanket as Leo didn’t have one so Hakyeon gave Leo his.   
They slept peacefully together until both the prince and servant were awakened by metal clashing. Hongbin quickly bounced to his feet and pulled Hakyeon up behind him so he could protect the other as he watches Leo battle against two of the men with such force and anger that the prince was shocked. He wasn’t sure when the bandates had arrived late that night but he knew it was extremely late by how high the moon was in the sky. Soon the prince was distracted by his own enemy though and quickly beings the dance of swords with the man to defeat him while keeping an eye on Hakyeon. To say fighting like that was difficult was an understatement. There were many times he nearly lost his grip on his sword for he didn’t realize he was holding it so loosely, actually he had dropped his sword many times during the fight and took many blows because of that. He tried his hardest to concentrate on the enemy battling him but his eyes kept wandering to Leo. The peasant they were taking home with them looked like a wild beast as he fought the two of the men. One was quickly killed in his battle and now Leo’s hair and face were covered with blood but the way it covered Leo looked so good. His long hair a matted mess and strands in front as the blood of his enemy dripped down his narrow face. He looked strangely beautiful and untamed and Hongbin wanted nothing more but to tame him at the moment Leo’s final enemies’ sword was knocked out of his hand and then the man was rushing towards him. His eyes seemed glazed over with red as he swung his sword in such a beautiful manner and with such strength that it was able to cleanly cut off the arm of Hongbin’s own attacker. It was in that moment he realized as he had been lost in his own thoughts that Hakyeon was now protecting him, as strange as it was, and his attacker was almost about to get in a killing blow on the prince. The forest fell quiet as Leo turned to cast him a harsh glare while Hakyeon sighed and sat down next to Hongbin.  
“You are an idiot!” The servant yelled after a while of judgemental silence “What the hell made you so distracted that you couldn’t feel yourself getting injured! I’d very much appreciate it that the man who had out of the blue decided to protect me wouldn’t fucking spill his own blood on my clothes! Leo how badly injured is he?”  
“I’m fine Haky-” Hongbin tried to say only to be cut off when Leo held up one dismembered finger that were so obviously Hongbin’s. He gulped slightly and looked down at his hands to see that he did lost his pinky finger during the skirmish. “Oh…”  
“Oh what?” Hakyeon asked his voice turning worried as his mind was already probably imagining the worst of the worse.   
“I just lost two fingers” Hongbin said in a nonchalant voice and than Leo pointed to his other arm and revealed a deep cut “And may need stitches in my arm.”  
“How the hell are you so calm about this?” Hakyeon said loudly, his voice cracking a little as Hongbin saw his eye start to brim with tears. The prince wanted nothing more than to comfort the servant in this moment but Leo was now making him sit still so he could tend to the wounds on Hongbin. Hakyeon silently sniffled back his tears as he waits for one of the two to talk to him, or atleast gently put a hand on his shoulder in Leo’s case.  
“Hakyeon” Hongbin said once Leo had finished bandaging the last of his wounds, slowly he pulls the other towards him “Hakyeon Im fine Leo got me all bandaged up and I can’t feel anything”  
“You can’t feel anything?” Hakyeon said before being cut off by a kiss from the prince.  
“Nothing at all” Hongbin said in a sad voice after he pulled away “The same way you cannot see I cannot feel.”  
“Oh…” Hakyeon said and bowed his head slightly before looking up again with a confused expression “Then how do you kiss so well if you can not feel the lips you are kissing?”  
“Practice” Was all Hongbin said in response before pulling Hakyeon into a deep kiss, the other’s eyes falling beautifully closed as as Hongbin glances over at Leo who was staring at the two with an unreadable expression.   
Slowly the two pulled away from each other and Hongbin grabbed a hold of Leo’s arm. He pulled the blood covered man down harshly and kissed him deeply. Their silent companion was the first to pull away from Hongbin though and looked at him in a mixture of shock and confusion as he covers his mouth with his hand.   
“That was for saving the day” Hongbin said in a heavy voice and than turned his attention back to Hakyeon. “Hakyeonnie~ do you mind if we allow Leo to join in on… what we have to finish?”  
Thoughts seemed to be circulating through the servant’s mind and it seemed to Hongbin that Hakyeon would decline what the prince wanted to happen.  
“Does he want to though?” Hakyeon said his voice sounding like a song   
“Kiss him” Hongbin whispered in response and pulled Leo’s hands away before guiding Hakyeon’s lips to the other’s. He watched at the shock and resistance from Leo’s face slowly faded away as his eyes closed slowly in bliss. Hongbin smirked at the gentleness of the kiss before he slid away from both of them to fix up a nice area so they wouldn’t get dirty on the forest floor. Hongbin also moved the fallen bodies away from the site before he returned to the two and one by one pulled them into a heated kiss. Slowly he lead Hakyeon to the spot he prepared while the other two were kissing. He knew Leo was right behind him from the sound of his footsteps. A small smirk graced Hongbin’s features as he slowly lets his lustful desires take control of him and carefully pushing Hakyeon down, climbing on top of him and straddling his hips.  
Surprisingly, Hongbin looked over and saw Leo starting to place gentle kisses on his shoulders, so Hongbin absentmindedly petted the other’s hair for a bit before a needy whine from Hakyeon pulled him out of his focus on Leo. Hongbin then decided it was probably best to work on the servant first. He started to grind his hips on the other’s area, soon starting to feel a new hardness against his inner thigh.  
“Oh… it didn’t take much for you to get excited for me again, did it?” He whispered to him with the same mischievous smirk on his face.  
Hongbin didn’t even notice it at first until he leaned down to slowly start stripping Hakyeon, that his own shirt was already gone. Leo’s lithe fingers probably being the ones that slipped it off. Slowly the prince glanced over at the peasant and saw how nervous the other was over this intimacy. Carefully he pulled Leo into a reassuring kiss before saying “You don’t have to join in if you don’t really want to.”  
A quick shake of the head from Leo was Hongbin’s response before Leo leaned close to him and kissed Hakyeon who had sat up during the question and looked confused at the two. Hongbin smiled softly at this and while Leo distracted Hakyeon with his kisses Hongbin got to work on marking both of them.   
It was surprising to both Hongbin and Leo when Hakyeon made them stop with their attacks. Leo looked towards Hongbin with a lost expression on his face over what to do while Hakyeon quickly pushed both men off of him before pushing them down.  
“You are mine” He says before he deeply kisses the two and starts to mark them. It was surprising that with how small Hakyeon was, even though he was just a centimeter smaller than Hongbin, how he was able to straddle them both. His bites are harsh and messy on Leo as Hongbin observes the peasant bite down on his tongue to hold something back. The prince smirked slightly at this and slowly wiggled out from under Hakyeon when the focus was on Leo. He nibbled gently on Hakyeon’s ear before helping him take off Leo’s shirt. Quickly he was stopped by Leo though and the pleading expression he had on his face helped Hongbin know that Leo wasn’t just ready for that yet. The prince nodded slowly in understanding and quickly distracted Hakyeon from marking Leo’s neck. He focused all his attention on Hakyeon to allow Leo to have a break, attacking the servant with kisses and hickies as his arms traveled down Hakyeon’s body and started to toy with his member. He smirked at the little sounds he got Hakyeon to make and soon the servant had pushed Hongbin back down onto the sheets and fully undressed the prince before he started to amazingly and skillfully suck on Hongbin’s member. Hongbin frowned at this and wished he could feel what Hakyeon was doing though every time he noticed Hakyeon pause in his motions he let out moans just to reassure him. A rustling sound took Hongbin’s attention away from Hakyeon for a moment as he looked over to see Leo make his way over to them. The peasant calmly stole a kiss from Hongbin while Hakyeon continued his work and for one small second in his life he felt something warm as he came into Hakyeon’s mouth while moaning into Leo’s. The prince pulled away from Leo and pulled Hakyeon up to face him before kissing the servant deeply. As he kissed Hakyeon his hands made their way down to the servant’s member and started to slowly pump it. Throughout this exchange Leo had also set work on Hakyeon through bites on the shoulders and fondling the servants nipples. Soon Hakyeon reached his climax and moaned loudly, breaking off from Hongbin’s kiss and cumming over both Leo and Hongbin. Hakyeon collapsed from the stimulation he was given and looked at the two with tired happy eyes before falling asleep in Hongbin’s arms. 

It had been a long day at the castle of Starlensea. Jaehwan taking care of his kingly duties by figuring out what to do with the shortage of food as well as studying Dactylology with Wonshik in between meetings. He did visit Junghwan throughout the day as well just to see if the physician had made any progress with their situations, and always getting the same response. He hoped that Hongbin would be home soon as he slowly gets ready for bed only for his thoughts to be interrupted by light butterfly kisses on his back. A smile fell across the king’s features before he turned around to face his Wonshik and pulled him into a deep kiss.   
“Let’s practice what we learned today” He signed to the other before pushing Wonshik down on their bed. Carefully they went through every word they knew in Dactylology, their kisses becoming more frequent and heated throughout it until they no longer were signing to each other but had interlocked their hands together.   
“I love you” Jaehwan whispered in Wonshik’s ears even though he knew the other couldn’t hear him he could at least feel the air of his words. He watched as Wonshik shivered from the air he felt before taking the others lips with his own and pushing their hands above Wonshik’s head. He liked this feeling of control he had over the other, though he knew it was only a manner of time before Wonshik fought back and started his own loving attack. He was correct in his assumption as in a quick motion he was now the one with his back being pressed against the sheets of their bed. Wonshik’s kisses were powerful when he was incontrol though he didn’t like to stay in control for long. They always ended up rolling against each other during these intimate moments no matter who was the one who started it and today was no different. as soon as Jaehwan’s shirt slipped over his head he was able to get on top of Wonshik and the dance for power began. One by one their clothes were removed and soon enough they were both covered in hickies.  
Jaehwan stares lovingly at Wonshik as he slowly pushed his fingers into his loves ass before trailing kisses down the back of Wonshik. Wonshik held tightly onto the sheets and moaned loudly into the pillow while Jaehwan prepared him and nipped at his ear. Wonshik felt amazing though slowly he grew unhappy with the position and the moment Jaehwan took his fingers out of him he flipped them over and sunk his butt down onto Jaehwan’s cock, moaning loudly before leaning down and kissing Jaehwan. The king let out a songful sound that Wonshik wished he could hear as he planted kisses and bites along Jaehwan’s shoulders and slowly started to move. Wonshik panted as he rode Jaehwan trying to make the most of what he was doing while kissing the other all over. Jaehwan brings his hands up to Wonshik’s own member and starts to slowly tease it with his hands as he bucks upwards into Wonshik’s ass. He felt pure pride that he had such an amazing man above him though slowly his eyes started to close on their own accord and slowly succumbed to sleep.   
He didn’t know how long he was out before Wonshik kissed him awake harshly but apparently it was long enough for the other to grow annoyed with him. With a small smile on his features he flipped their positions for a final time, spreading Wonshik’s legs wide open and placing them on top of his shoulders before harshly thrusting into the other hoping to make up for falling asleep during their love making. Loudly the bed squeaked as they both moaned out and gave their finally release before Jaehwan pulled out of Wonshik and curled up against his love while Wonshik tightly wrapped his arms around Jaehwan and kissing his shoulders gently before they both fell asleep.

Sanghyuk groaned loudly from his room and silently prayed that he’d go deaf soon while he tries to block out the noise of the two who were having sex above him. He wondered how a palace such as this be made of stone yet the floors were paper thin? He had already had a long day of cleaning up the mess he made from eating everything and having to remember to drink the potion Junghwan had given him, already having to go back and ask for more after finishing two of the five bottles he received in the past two days. If they weren’t able to find this witch soon than Sanghyuk was sure he was going to go insane.


	6. Chapter  5

Jaehwan and Wonshik stared carefully through the study room’s door in the physician’s office. It was just past dinner so there were no royal duties left for Jaehwan to do and he and Wonshik had decided to study more dactylology, A around an hour ago Sanghyuk had also entered the office and joined them in the study with his new pile of hunger potions in his bag. Moments after Sanghyuk arrived a trumpet sounded from the entrance that caused Jaehwan to stand up fully, though Wonshik quickly pulled him back down. Jaehwan pouted slightly at this though and tried to explain to Wonshik that he should go check out what that sound was. Of course the wanderer wouldn’t budge at this and signed back that the royal court would come find Jaehwan if it was truly important. Reluctantly the king settled back down only to stand right back up when the physician’s door was slammed open and there was his brother, carrying someone he had never seen with another man close behind him. Junghwan had quickly rushed over to the two newcomers and set to work on the injured man.  
“What happened?” the physician said as he starts cleaning the man that Hongbin had carried in.  
“I… I don’t know he all of the sudden passed out when we arrived” Hongbin said with a worried tremble in his voice, Jaehwan watched as he pulled the servant who had traveled with him closer. Whatever had happened with his brother over the journey had changed him.  
“He’s got some untreated injuries... “ Junghwan observed after wiping the blood that Jaehwan had now realised dried on the man’s skin.  
“Untreated?” The servant who Hongbin was holding squeaked out as his brow frowns slightly in worry, though his eyes continued to stare at nothing.  
“Thats…” Hongbin started but quickly trailed off and cursed at the unconscious man “God dammit Leo.”  
“I take it you didn’t realise his injuries” Junghwan said in a matter of fact manner as he starts to treat the more serious ones, cleaning them out “Some of these look days old… Where did you find him?”  
“He… He was the only one left of Bangtan” Hongbin said in a somber tone and Jaehwan’s breath hitched, “Something… Something happened there during one of the tournaments from what I can deduce and Leo here was the only living person we found.”  
Junghwan’s shoulders tense at Hongbin words as he mutters a quick order to Sanghyuk, who had somehow wandered back out of the study to help the physician. Wonshik was still studying behind Jaehwan, uncaring of what the others were doing or why he had stopped learning with his love.  
“Hongbin” Jaehwan said slowly stepping out of his room, ready for anything “You… What you said… Is Bangtan… Is it really gone?”  
“I… I’m sorry hyung” Hongbin said looking down and slowly pulled out Seokjin’s crown from his bag “I found this in a pile of dust….where the royalty stands”  
Carefully Jaehwan took the crown from Hongbin’s hands, his eyes turning cold as he stares at it in a mournful light and grips it tightly to his chest “Jin…” he mumbles and carefully Hongbin pulls him into a comforting hug. Jaehwan felt horrible, his closest friend and ally was now dead, and he had been unable to help him survive. He’d been so focused on his own kingdom he didn’t even think to send someone to see if Bangtan was alright until it was too late... and even then he didn’t even go himself. He cried on his brother’s shoulder and hugged him tightly, grateful to still have someone he can rely on that knew him at his worst and best.  
“I hate to break this mourning” Junghwan said once Jaehwan seemed to have finally calmed down though he still refused to leave Hongbin’s arms. “That mark on this… you called him Leo right? He’s been cursed…. Hasn’t he?”  
Hongbin pulled away from Jaehwan when Junghwan had asked that question. He raised a brow at it and confusedly mumbled “No? I… What makes you think that he has?-”  
“Because he has the same mark Sanghyuk got after he was discovered to have a bottomless pit and Wonshik has behind his ears after becoming deaf… He also shares the same mark that both you and Hakyeon have”  
“Where” Jaehwan quickly says and pushes Hongbin away from the man on the exam table so that he could get a better look at him. He was quick to spot it, the dried blood had been blocking it before but now he could see it as clear as day. This man was definitely cursed but the question was what was his sin, the only two left were Lust and Wrath after all.  
“Wait Hakyeon also has the mark?” Hongbin questioned and looked curiously over at the blind servant.  
“Yes it’s on his eyelid.” Junghwan muttered, forcing Leo to drink something he had created to help with the wounds.  
The moment the liquid slid down the wounded man’s throat he gasped up and quickly sat up in his seat and tried to cough it back up. He succeeded in doing so and threw everything he had had that day back up and onto the floor below him. Groaning silently he slowly layed back down like all of the bones in his body ached and casted a harsh glare over at Junghwan who quickly tensed up from the icy look in Leo’s eyes. It was like he had fallen into a frozen river the eyes made his bones chill so much.  
“Leo you’re scaring them” Hakyeon suddenly said, as if he could see the scared look in both Junghwan’s and Jaehwan’s eyes despite being blind, and surprisingly at the sound of Hakyeon’s voice Leo relaxed his glare and sat up slowly to look for the servant. A small smile formed on his face the moment he saw both Hakyeon and Hongbin and visibly relaxed in front of Junghwan and Jaehwan.  
“So… Leo” Jaehwan started to say, a yawn escaping his mouth as he started to walk towards Leo. He was only a few steps away from from Hongbin before the world around him turned black and he clasped on the floor. He could hear the panicked yells for someone to get Wonshik but soon drifted off to dreamland. He felt arms bring him up and the softness of a kiss on his mouth before he slowly opened up his eyes and moved his lips to kiss Wonshik back. He could tell it was his love from the shape of the other’s mouth and how they battled each other once Jaehwan had finally kissed him back, always trading who was winning and losing in their dominance. Once he had finally came to and was able to seperate from the kiss to breath he tiredly glanced around the room, noting he had been moved to one of the other bed Junghwan uses to treat his patients on, and everyone was staring at him with worried looks. His head was killing him and he groaned, reaching up to hold onto the pain he felt, surprise reaching him when he felt the soft yet hard bandaged wrapped around his head.  
“What…. What happened?” He questioned as his hands felt around the bandaged, his face contouring into a confused expression as he glances at all the frown brows before him.  
“When you fell... you hit your head on the corner of the table…” Junghwan explained “Wonshik had a hard time getting you up because of that.. I think you should stay in here tonight so I can keep an eye on you…”  
Jaehwan could only nod at that, knowing better than to argue with the physician. A sigh escaped his lips as he casts an apologetic look at Hongbin and lightly pats Wonshik’s head to sooth the others’ worry.   
“Junghwan” Jaehwan said slowly after the silence of the room became unbearable for him “Have you told Hongbin about what we’ve discovered? At least with what curse each of us has?”  
“I’ve told him some of it.” Junghwan said and reaches to pull out a book “What we know right now is that all of those with the mark have been cursed with one or more of the seven deadly sins. Jaehwan was cursed with two… Both Pride and Sloth”  
Hongbin couldn’t help but laugh at the fact his brother was cursed with sloth, it was fairly obvious that was one of the sins after all since he keeps having these fainting spells. He stopped laughing though when Junghwan gave him a pointed look.  
“Anyways. Hakyeon was the first one i noticed with the curse. Though now it has come to my knowledge Hongbin was actually the first curse though… we do not know with which sin…” He gives Jaehwan a small glance before returning back to the topic, turning and addressing mostly Hongbin “Wonshik has been cursed with Envy. Hakyeon was cursed with Greed. Sanghyuk cursed with Gluttony… Which leaves you and Leo now... One of you was cursed with either Lust or Wrath….”  
“Junghwan” Hongbin said trying to get the physician’s attention as he trails of into his own world,  
“Though it is interesting to say that all of Leo’s senses are in working order…”  
“Junghwan!”  
“None of the tests I gave him proved anything to be out of order.”  
“JUNGHWAN!”  
“Sorry what Hongbin?”  
“Finally…” the prince says with a tried eye roll “Leo can’t speak. That’s probably his curse”  
“No he can.” Junghwan said “His vocal cords are in working condition. He just is refusing to speak for some reason.”  
The whole room practically turned to face Leo at this and gave him accusatory looks, at least in his eyes, at the situation. Leo automatically shrank away from everyone and tried his best to hide behind the only one there that wasn’t staring at him, Hakyeon. His lips pushed shut together as he peaks over Hakyeon’s shoulders. He was trying to fight off speaking in his defence as as much as he had the urge to he didn’t want to kill anyone because of his voice.  
“Guys stop this” Hongbin said, his voice strong as he shakes himself out of his wondering “Leo has a good reason for not speaking. He witnessed his whole home’s death.”  
“Yes it could’ve been psychological…” Junghwan mumbled as he quickly writes that down “Though we won’t really know until we find a way to communicate with him… Can he write?”  
“No…” Hongbin said shaking his head, Leo continued to hide away as the others talked about him. Wonshik tilted his head curiously at what everyone was doing and stared right at Leo, like there was something about him that he remembered from somewhere. A memory hit him like a trail of bricks from one of his travels. Slowly he reached towards Leo his eyes recognizing him finally as his old friend, like a familiar path he once veered away from oh so long ago.  
“Taekwoon?” The wander spoke as he approached the peasant in front of him. The commotion those who could hear stopped and everyone stared confused at Wonshik and Leo. “Taekwoon what are you doing here? What the hell happened to you? You… You… disappeared! We thought you died!”  
Leo’s eyes widened in the recognition of his old friend and like a ghost he moved out from behind Hakyeon, who had been defending him this whole time, and quickly pulled Wonshik into a long forgotten hug.  
A tap on Wonshik’s shoulder caused him to pull away ever so slightly from Leo, though he never let go of him. His eyes look toward Jaehwan and his eyebrow raises slightly as if to say “What?”  
“You know him?” The king signed sloppily to Wonshik as he points to the way the two were hugging.  
Wonshik could only nod in response to this paused in his words before he finally found the right ones to explain everything.  
“Taekwoon was a good friend of mine just before I had left my birth place” Wonshik tried his best to explain as he held onto Leo, his eyes turning soft at the memories of childhood and a small smile turning at his lips “He would always follow me around and we would play knights together…. And then one day our home was raided by bandits and He was no wheres to be found…”


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoy ans R&R. I'm back in school now and may be getting a job soon so I may be unable to update once a week

Wonshik called out to his friend with a smile on his face. The young boy had jumped at least three feet into the air and spun quickly around, ready to attack with the twigs he held in his hands like swords. He didn't let go of his weapons or his stance when he recognized the enemy as Wonshik but the moment the later started to laugh was when the attacking commenced.  
“Ow!” Wonshik whined as he was hit with sticks and raised his arms in defense of himself, “Would- Taek- Would you- ow! I’m sorry! I won't laugh-”  
After much pleading with the older boy, Taekwoon finally stopped his beatings and huffed at Wonshik.  
“Oh come on Taek! it was funny.” he said “And knights need to keep their ears peeled don't they? Shame you don't have ears like mine I would've picked up the sou- OW!”  
“Quit being a brag, Wonshikkie.” Taekwoon says with an eye roll after hitting the younger again, “I'm going to be a Knight. I will. And then I'll come back here and defeat those bandits that always attack eomma. “  
Wonshik smiled a bit at that and determination filled his face.  
“I'll join you! We’ll be the best Knight duo around! Better than Arthur and the Knights of the round!”  
Taekwoon laughed at this and ruffled Wonshik hair.  
“Let's train.” the older said as he handed Wonshik a twig.  
Just like that, their afternoon passed by faster than possible in the clearing they used as their training field. No one came to bother them, even as the day reached the fiery sunset of the evening, and most were glad they weren't getting in the way of them preparing for another attack. It was like a dream that never happened. Until it turned into a nightmare... that did.  
Fire and smoke surrounded Wonshiks vision as he groaned loudly, waking up with pain in his head. He heard screams of fear all around him from both men women and children and it made his stomach launch at the thought. He tried to move from where he lied but found his arms to tired and heavy to even lift themselves. His legs were sore as well as trapped under something that Wonshik could not see. It wasn’t until he heard a growing voice and yells of battle that he realized someone else was there with him. The clang of actual metal on the battlefield, though one sounded off. Slowly he opened his eyes and squinted them in order to see through the thick smoke around him and held his breath as he recognized Taekwoon standing protectively in front of him with just a metal stick in his hands. Wonshik couldn’t see Taekwoon’s face but he was sure it shared the same look with blazing eyes as it did when they had first met all those years ago.  
“TAEKWOON!” Wonshik finds himself yelling out to his friend just as a large tail whipped over head and knocked the elder off his feet, sending him flying into the air and then crashing to the ground. Wonshik wanted nothing more than to help him in this instance as a man towering above both of them blocks his view of Taekwoon. It was just then that Wonshik’s eyes grew heavy again as he uses up his last remaining energy to scream and reach out to his friend. A sword being raised to the air and then brought down in one large swoop was the last thing he saw as darkness engulfed him once again.

 

“I thought he had died” Wonshik sign and Jaehwan translated, it was much easier as Wonshik was starting to have trouble pronouncing things, “He disappeared after that and we never saw him again… How did you live Taek?”  
Taekwoon obviously didn't answer the other and instead just nodded slowly before shrugging his shoulders. Wonshik’s eyes narrowed at this and he felt anger towards his friend Why wouldn’t he say anything? Was his significance in each other's lives worth just a shrug? There hadn’t been a day that past that Wonshik hadn’t asked himself “What would Taek do?” in all of his travels and now he just got a simple shrug in response.  
“Why aren’t you explaining yourself Taekwoon!” He says angrily, his initial happiness at the others survival diminishing greatly, and approaches the other “I saw you die! You died! Why did you not come back?”  
Suddenly Hongbin and that servant that arrived with them stepped in his way of Taekwoon. Their mouths moved and created sounds Wonshik couldn’t hear but from their body language they were defending him. Defending Taekwoon like Taekwoon did with him and Wonshik vowed to do when he first saw Taekwoon hurt. Now two others were protecting Taekwoon from him and he was the reason why. Slowly he backs away from them. Unabashed jealousy clawed at his chest as he quickly hid himself away in the study. 

Hongbin had been the first to notice Wonshik was getting angry at Leo for not being able to respond. Jaehwan of course didn’t notice either as in his mind, according to Hongbin at least, Wonshik couldn’t do anything wrong. Junghwan and Sanghyuk were both tensing from the atmosphere of the room, one ready to break up a fight and the other preparing for the worst. Hakyeon could feel the tension in the air but he only realized what the tension was about when Wonshik raised his voice at Leo and it was then he felt Hongbin move from next to him and quickly went to do the same.  
“Wonshik it’s not his fault” Hakyeon said as he rests a hand on his hip,“He can’t speak just like I can’t see and Hongbin can’t feel. If you hadn’t noticed we all are cursed here!”  
“How can you expect him to do more than that” Hongbin says, jumping in a harsher tone than Hakyeon had had originally “He doesn’t need this crap from you especially after watching his hole kingdom get destroyed!”  
“Hongbin that’s uncalled for!” Jaehwan says in defense of his love but that only made things worse.  
“Oh what do you know Jaehwan? Your opinion is biased here and you know it” Hongbin growled out.  
“No He’s right it is kind of uncalled for” Junghwan mumbled to himself as the argument continued. He sighed as he watched both Wonshik and Leo, or Taekwoon now, walk out of the room in completely opposite directions. As soon as both parties heard the loud slams of doors the arguments ceased. Jaehwan quickly ran after Wonshik and Hongbin dragged Hakyeon out so they could find Taekwoon. A loud sigh came from next to Junghwan that made the physician jump slightly before he realised it was just Sanghyuk.  
“And then there were two” Sanghyuk found himself muttering before pushing off from the wall “Need help with anything Junghwan? I’ve got nothing on my plate until I need to get to the kitchens”  
“Yeah sure… Research this” Junghwan said and passed the younger a book “It may come in handy in the future.”

 

Taekwoon felt like he was suffocating away in the room when Wonshik had started to throw accusations at him. The air around him grew tighter and tighter until he just wanted to scream out at them but quickly stopped himself before he did another mass genocide with his cursed voice. The words that Wonshik had said to him hurt his chest even more than the arguments he didn’t know how he could convey to the other that he did miss or how he can share what he recalled to Wonshik at all. He could only just remember pieces of his past and now that he met Wonshik again he can’t even ask him about their village. He needed to get out of there and fast or else he doesn’t know what he would do . His feet carried him at a fast pace out of the room as his vision was blurred ever so slightly. He could just barely hear Hongbin calling out for him but he couldn’t. He didn’t want to slow down at all. He needed to hit something. To demolish something so he just continued to run through the maze of a castle and out the doors as fast as he could, surprisingly being able to shake Hongbin and Hakyeon off of him while doing so.  
He didn’t stop until he reached a field, much like the one Wonshik had described from their past. So beautiful and scerine all he could do was collapse onto the surprisingly soft grass around him and silently screamed into the earth as he beat down on it in frustration. Frustrated with his curse. Frustrated with Wonshik. Frustrated with his fears. And above all else he was frustrated with himself. He was frustrated because he didn’t remember in time. Because now not only is a whole kingdom destroyed because of him but the place he could’ve called home is probably destroyed because he didn’t remember in time. Because now he just probably lost one of his greatest friendships all because of his stupid curse and he just had to scream out at that.  
And so he screamed as loud as he possibly could into the ground feeling how the grass around him slowly nothing by dried dirt and soon the bugs stopped buzzing and birds stopped chirping and it was just silence again. Silence until the rain fall that soaked him to the bone he stayed out there for a long while, allowing the rains’ pitter patter to calm him before he slowly made his way back to the castle.  
He barely noticed Hakyeon and Hongbin waiting just under the roof of the door for his return until they pulled him into a tight hug and whispered encouraging words into his ears. If he could he would’ve spilled everything to them but he’d much rather have them safe than destroy them with trying to make his pain go away.  
“Let’s get you inside ok Leo?... It’s.. Okay if we still call you that right?” He hears Hakyeon say with a voice of kindness, though the way he held onto Taekwoon made him think that Hakyeon was afraid of something but what Taekwoon didn’t know, so all he did was nod.

It took a long while before both Taekwoon and Wonshik room again, or well for Wonshik at least. Hongbin was already used to being in the same room as a majority of the people he got into small arguments with, and sometimes he even makes love to them during said argument though he never goes against the other person’s wishes of being fucked.  
“Ok” Sanghyuk says surprising taking charge in the group discussion, signing along with his words just so Wonshik could understand “We need a way to communicate with Taekwoon, body language isn’t going to help especially since he seems pretty expressionless.”  
“He’s right here you know” Hongbin mumbled protectively and got casted a glare from the chef before the other coughed and continued with what he was saying.  
“As I was saying we know who has five out of the seven deadly sins. All that remains are lust and Wrath-”  
“OH! Taekwoon could be lust!” Jaehwan quickly says, cutting off Sanghyuk completely “I mean he was lustful to become a knight and there must be some reason!”  
“Oh my god your still denying it aren’t you?” Hongbin says in a monotone voice as he stares in shock at his brother.  
“Denying what? It’s obvious! Taekwoon as got to be Lust!”  
Hongbin face palmed at his brothers accusations and in a done voice says “No.. no he’s not. I can tell you for a fact that the only interest in lude activities Leo has shown was very limited.”  
“How the hell do you know that?”  
“Cause I initiated it. I was feeling him all over and my does he feel good. I mean he’s got abs and muscles for days. And his kiss? Heavens he does need more practice but I felt something from it-”  
“Pish posh it could just be his lustful charms making you think like this and want to do all of this”  
“Really? You are so naive hyung… Go Woori, Kim Jun Myeon, Zhang Yixing, Byun Baek Hyun, Yoon Bo Ra, Lee Si-yeon, Han Dong, Lee Jung-suk, Shin Mina, Jackson Wang, Lee Jung-hwan, Han Sanghyuk, Cha Hakyeon… The list goes on and on with the amount of people I’ve been in bed with and trust me hyun we aren’t just kissing in there”  
If Jaehwan’s jaw could have dislodged itself and then fallen through the center of the earth Hongbin was sure it would’ve just like he was sure that everyone’s eyes could pop out of their sockets from the lightests of taps with how wide they were. Did Hongbin feel guilty about all of this? No. it’s least to say that he definitely did not and he learned so much through all of the lovers… Well one night stands he had. That was until he saw Taekwoon frown at him and Hakyeon look away from him slightly, something about their reactions in particular stirred unpleasantness with in Hongbin and caused his once proud expression to fall from his face.  
No one spoke for quite a while after that shocking reveal. It wasn’t until an awkward cough from Junghwan awoke everyone again and drew their attention away from the lustful prince.  
“As Hyuk here was saying, and now thanks to that reveal, We have all those cursed in one place. You guys need to work as a team to find this witch. Sanghyuk and I have been doing some research on her and her magic and it seems she’s much more serious and older than we could imagine. You’re going to have to really work as a team on this one so put your differences aside and figure out away to communicate. Wonshik maybe since you have learned Dactylology fairly well Taekwoon could join your lessons for a bit and you can help each other…”


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Sorry for taking so long to update. I started my senior year of school and got a job. I'll try to update more now that I am used to my schedule

A month and a half has passed since they had all discovered each other. Sanghyuk had slowly became frustrated with waiting for them to be able to communicate so they could go on the quest. Poor Taekwoon was being drilled practically every day by both Wonshik and Jaehwan over writing and Dactylology, and barely given him any time to give his brain a rest. Sanghyuk had witnessed a few of Taekwoon’s explosive anger “episodes”, or well… at least the aftermath of them. One time, he had been walking into the office just at Taekwoon was storming out, and saw the tornado of a mess the man had made in his wake. It was shocking that the man could cause such a scene, and usually during those disasters of lessons it was just Wonshik who was there, as Jaehwan had kingly duties to attend to.

    Hongbin, as Sanghyuk observed, was- well, he was Hongbin, for lack of a better turn. He seemed to be too busy feeling (no pun intended) up his two new consorts to care about going on any sorts of quests. Obviously Hakyeon walked around with Hongbin like the two were attached at the hip, so that was the same story there as well.

    Sanghyuk sighed, breaking out of his thoughts, then realizing in exasperation that he had spaced out once again, and weird things happen whenever he spaces out-

    Yup. Something weird happened again. He could gather what he did as well, as a few moments before, there had been a relatively large wheel of cheese he had on hand to help lunch taste a bit better- but… now there was no wheel of cheese. Sanghyuk’s mouth also tasted like cheese.

    The cook groaned, but decided to just down another one of the hunger potions he had been given and continue trying to work.

    Another four failed meals and a few days later, Sanghyuk had finally had enough. He wanted to talk about this. How did he get all of them down here though?

    Wait.

    Now here’s an idea.

    Sanghyuk then screamed, he screamed as loud and raw as he possibly could, the high-pitched, banshee noise bouncing off the castle’s stone walls and yearning him, surprisingly, the exact result he wanted. Taekwoon, of course, was the first to appear, sprinting down the stairs at top speeds, brandishing a sword and looking around for whatever enemy might have infiltrated the castle. Jaehwan was right on his heels, nearly crashing into Taekwoon as he stumbled down the stairs, dragging an equally -if not more- disoriented wonshik downstairs behind him. A similar scene was the same with Hongbin and Hakyeon, the prince dragging his consort downstairs as he quickly spotted Sanghyuk and rushed to him, concerned.

“Sanghyuk! I heard you scream. What’s happened? Rats? Intruders?”  
“...you don’t have a shirt on.”

“What of it?!”

“And you-” sanghyuk then cut himself off with another heavy sigh, trying to ignore the messy bruises on Hongbin’s bare chest, honestly just finding it weird how shameless the other was, “-nevermind. I actually screamed like that because I knew it would be the only way to get all of you down here.” sanghyuk said, mildly annoyed.

    Jaehwan also looked mildly annoyed, obviously sour- mmm… an apple right now would be grea- no Sanghyuk get it together- over being pulled away from his kingly duties, whatever they may be. He shakes his head clear of whatever seemed to be controlling his head, aka the horrid thought of food, and stared those who surrounded him right in the eye before speaking.  
“I cannot be this castles Cook any more with this curse hanging over my head” He says bluntly “So either we get this witch now or no more food for this kingdom. I am sure that at least Taekwoon agrees with me here and would love to speak again instead of destroying the study continuously over and over again.”

“Hey you shouldn’t put words in his mouth!” Hongbin says in slight defense over Taekwoon

“Well I wouldn’t need to if he could speak!” Sanghyuk fired back  
“Don’t speak like that to Hongbin!” Jaehwan immediately jumped on  
“He brings up a good point that both of you are overlooking” Hakyeon says in defense of hyuk, which was slightly surprising  
    Just like that an argument broke out between them Wonshik rolled his eyes and for once was glad he couldn’t hear their voices of havoc and by glancing at Taekwoon he could tell the other was extremely uncomfortable over whatever this argument was about. He was inching closer and closer to Wonshik and further and further away from the others. It actually wasn’t until his old friend grabbed a hold of Wonshik’s shirt that he knew it was time to break this up. That and it looked like at least one of them was about to say something stupid and hurtful.  
“HEY!” he screamed and quickly all attention was on him

“Good. Now that you guys are done with your petty argument why exactly are we here?”  
    A wave of facepalms followed the question just like that and both Jaehwan and Taekwoon took the liberty of filling Wonshik in.  
“So… you” He points towards Sanghyuk “Want to find the witch who cursed us correct?”  
The cook quickly nods  
“And the argument got started because?”  
“He put words in Taekwoon’s mouth” Jaehwan signs slowly  
“Why would he put words in Taekwoon’s mouth?”

“He can’t speak”  
“What do you mean he can’t speak? He can speak. I’ve seen him do it upon multiple occasions.”  
“WHAT!?” the room collectively yelled followed by a thud from Jaehwan.  
“Shit” Hongbin breathes and kneels down next to his brother. Wonshik quickly rushed to his side to check over his lover before giving him the kiss of life.

Quickly the king rose again and fell back down from the dizziness of it all.  
“What the hell do you mean he can speak?” Jaehwan asks, after regaining his composure, in rapid and messy dactylology to Wonshik, he had to slow down and repeat it multiple times in order for the wanderer to fully understand him and to get the signs correct.  

“Yeah he can…I mean… His mouth moves and everything like he is speaking… It’s pretty hard to fake speaking” Wonshik says as he glances towards Taekwoon

    At this revelation everyone turned their attention to the supposed mute and stared uncomfortably at him. Taekwoon’s skin crawled with fear as he backed away from the group, glaring angrily at Wonshik as he tries to think of a way out of this.

“Speak” Jaehwan says in an authoritative tone.

Taekwoon shakes his head and pins himself against the kitchen’s wall. His jaw tightens visibly as his breaths become quick and rapid.  
“Leo” Hongbin says sternly, still slipping into the way he used to call Taekwoon before they learned his true name.

    Sanghyuk was still confused on the whole ordeal, mainly still agitated by the argument earlier and now finding out that they were possibly lied to by the person they had so easily accepted into their group. Who knows he could be a spy or the Witch in disguise. A mind controlled zombie under the powers of the witch far away watching and observing

No.

No that was too ridiculous of a thought.

A laugh started to erupt from Sanghyuk’s chest as he thought to himself.

“What the hell are you laughing at?” Hongbin says slightly irritated, and who wouldn’t be in his shoes? He just found out the man he has been trying to court is possibly lying to him.

“Hongbin calm down” Hakyeon said, the servant being surprisingly quiet during the whole thing “We can’t force Taekwoon to speak. He is obviously not going to any ways”

“We could make him scream”  
“Sanghyuk!”

“What just a suggestion. A joke really. Honestly I would never bring torture into this. I agree with you Hakyeon.”

The servant sighs loudly and shoves both Jaehwan and Wonshik away from Taekwoon. He pulled the mute up gently by his nearest body part, the forearm luckily.

“Now” He says in the voice of a stern mother “You are going to give Taekwoon space and let him explain. He probably has a good reason for not speaking. We did find him in the middle of a masacre after all.”

“That he could have caused.” Jaehwan couldn’t help but point out and just hearing that one comment brought tears to Taekwoon’s eyes as he bows his head in shame.

“Jaehwan!” Hakyeon yelled sternly at the king like he was just some misbehaving child, “That was uncalled for and you know it! Apologize now!”  
“Hey I’m the-”

“Now!”

“Fine….” Jaehwan groans at how mother-like the servant was though it was slightly nice to know he cared. Especially when Hongbin usually hides things from him, it helps to know that Hakyeon would be there to protect his brother.  
“I’m sorry… That was very rude of me to suggest when I don’t really know you. You’ve been through a lot and don’t deserve my negativity. It was very unkingly of me to do so.”

Taekwoon just nods slowly in response to that and signs three quick words “You were right”  
“What?” Jaehwan says his apology getting lost and replaced with hurt “Seokjin is Dead! That whole kingdom is dead because of you?!”

Hakyeon, though being the only support that Taekwoon had at the moment quickly left his side and went to hide behind Hongbin. The servant didn’t know what to do now and Jaehwan had already pulled out his sword and had it pointed at Taekwoon’s neck. Wonshik, though only getting part of what was happening tried his best to stop Jaehwan from doing anything rash while Hongbin could swear that he was feeling pain for the first time. His heart was tearing apart inside of him. Sanghyuk too was shocked at everything and was trying to think of what exactly he could do. It was obvious to the cook that there was more to this than they knew about. He gasped as he watches in slow motion Jaehwan raise his sword and  take a swing at Taekwoon effortlessly. The brush of the tip drew blood from Taekwoon’s cheek, the cut deep and obviously with the intent to scar.  
“STOP!” Sanghyuk yelled before Jaehwan could take another swing, this time one that wasn’t a warning shot.

“Stop right now Jaehwan” he says to his king, and the man froze in his place, “You are going to destroy whatever pride you have in this kingdom if you kill him right now! You’re going to give the witch what she wants!”  
“You’re right…” Jaehwan mumbles darkly and takes a step closer to Taekwoon. With one quick swing Taekwoon fell to the floor, knocked out cold. “We’re bringing him to the tower. Hongbin and Hakyeon. You’re banned from seeing him. Until he tells us why he is going to be considered a criminal of Starlensea.”

With that last order Jaehwan called for the guards to do just that and Taekwoon was dragged away.

Hongbin, who had been silent until now, suddenly lashed out with a loud yell, suddenly running after the guards who had dragged Taekwoon out of the room, and nearly did run all the way up the stairs and nearly did reach out and touch Taekwoon, before one of the guards probably saw the prince out of the corner of their eye without really seeing who he was, and pushed him back down the stairs, Hongbin falling to the bottom with a sickening thud. He didn’t pass out or any of the like though, he just curled up into a small ball and stayed there, a few tears trickling down his cheeks.

Hakyeon, who had been trying to catch up the Hongbin since the moment the other had left to room. It was difficult for him to wander the halls without any help. He kept banging into them and constantly tripped over his feet. He didn’t actually just wasted a lot of energy constantly running into pots and pans, counters and other kitchen related items before tripping over Hongbin once he finally found the other

“Ow” He groaned “Please tell me it was you I tripped over and not another dead bird.”

    Sanghyuk watched on in horror at the scene and honestly didn’t know what to do while Wonshik was yelling angrily at Jaehwan to explain himself. He sighed deeply and quickly went to his own room which was connected to the kitchen and shut the door angrily. All he wanted to do was to go on a quest to return to normal. Now it seems not even that was going to happen. He later reemerged from his room with a sack strapped to his back, flipping both the king and Wonshik off before stepping nonchalantly over the mothering Hakyeon and the wounded Hongbin to make his way up the stairs and out of the kingdom.


	9. Chapter 8

It had been a month since Taekwoon was sent to the dungeons, and Sanghyuk had left the kingdom. Wonshik had become reclusive and only really hung out with Jaehwan. He still didn’t fully understand why Taekwoon had been locked up, and why they had been forbidden from seeing the old friend. He didn’t question it though. At least... not until a few concerned guards approached him and Jaehwan one day and were sharing something with the king. He usually just blocked out the words and wrote down random things in papers that Jaehwan had luckily given him to occupy himself with, since now all his other sources of socializing have disappeared. He was very interested in reading the atmosphere of the room as the guards had brought up a plate of food, leftovers (probably spoiled as Sanghyuk was no longer there) with them, and seemed deeply terrified of whoever it was going to. Wonshik could only imagine what the conversation was until Jaehwan signed something to him quickly about following the main guard who had brought the the argument up to Taekwoon’s cell. He was surprised to say the least, but followed him anyways, walking all the way up to the dungeons with him. He could tell from the way the guard’s shoulders slumped in defeat and how his jaw moved that he was grumbling about something or another. Wonshik had glanced at the fellow guard who had accompanied the one he followed and took note of how he looked. The man seemed to have this terrified expression on his face and was pleading with Jaehwan about something just by the way his hands were clamped together and tears seemed to be falling from his eyes.  
The stairs were grueling work and it seemed like eternity until they had finally reached the very top of the tower. He envied Hongbin’s lack of feeling in that moment for his legs felt like death had taken them and he was so exhausted that he barely even noticed the door of the cell had opened. The scene before him was slightly frightening in his opinion, Taekwoon’s hair had grown in the days since his sentence and he looked so very pale. Paler than usual. Dishes were piled around him, some seemed to have been neatened up by someone or Taekwoon himself but none had been cleaned properly. Even the buckets he was given to go to the bathroom in had not been cleaned and smelled horribly. Oh how Wonshik wished he was given Jaehwan’s, useless, yet useful curse. What tied the whole mess all together were these piles of dust and clothes around them before the captive quickly stands up and lashes out at the two. Wonshik watches as Taekwoon’s mouth opened wide and pure hatred flashed in his eyes. He watched as the guard he had accompanied froze in place and cracks slowly appeared on his skin. His eyes widened as the guard’s hands fall with a clatter from the tray and then, like the weight of the cloth that covered the guard had gotten too heavy the man fell to the ground and a cloud of dust followed. Wonshik tried his best not to breath in the dust but found he was too shocked and terrified of Taekwoon to even close his mouth in time before he started to taste the strange grounded and horrific taste of bones, blood and skin mixed together. He wanted to scream but found that he could barely move at what he had just witnessed of his old friend as the man who now embodied the child he once knew turned to face him with a sad look in his eyes.  
Their eyes locked and stayed there for a long while until Wonshik could finally snap out of his petrified state and bolts out of the cell. He barely even notices the stairs as he races down them and out of near breath he collapses just as he opened the door to the room that he had left Jaehwan in all those minutes prior. His ears were ringing as he felt a rush of air around him and slowly he was surrounded by the scholars, the politicians who worked with his love and his love himself. The concerned look in Jaehwan’s eyes only calmed him slightly as arms were wrapped protectively around him and from the very corner of the room he could see Hongbin standing there in shock and concern as Wonshik lets out silent sobs over what he had just witnessed. He doesn’t know what happens next as all he could see was blurred and he was lifted from his spot on the floor by Jaehwan. He felt the vibrations against his skin of the other yelling something to his officials before he was taken away to Jaehwan’s room. He felt safe again. That is until Jaehwan fell halfway to the doors and Wonshik had to kiss him awake again.

“What happened to him?” Hongbin asks in a way to make him appear as if he did not care for the newly appointed earl as he stares down at the parchment they were originally workin on. The past month has been extremely difficult for him, losing one of the people he actually felt he could share his life with which was ironic since he normally never felt anything. He had never forgiven Jaehwan for taking Taekwoon away from him and in some ways he could see that Hakyeon didn’t like it either. The servant had been keeping to himself lately which did hurt the prince after the bond he had worked so hard to build between them all seemed to be slipping away and it’s safe to say that the lack of amazing food does not help this one bit. No with Hyuk gone the original group, Hongbin Jaehwan and Sanghyuk, no longer had strength they once had. Hongbin no longer had any patients for Jaehwan’s attempts to explain himself or apologize for that matter.   
Though he was at odds with his brother he did still care for Wonshik and seeing him enter the room with such freight on his face concerned him deeply. He could hear the whispering of the few guards around him and the somewhat excitement yet fear in the ear would have chilled Hongbin if he was a normal person.   
“He was sent up there wasn’t he?” a man whispered from behind Hongbin.  
“Yeah so was Minhyuk” The guard beside him said.  
“Which one?”  
“Does it matter? Most are dead now anyways.”  
“Right….”  
“Why’d he-”  
Hongbin quickly turned around and glared at the two guards who were gossiping “What. Happened. To. Him” he asks in a voice that left no room for silly play as he takes a step towards the two,   
“T-the king sent him to… to the prisoner” one of them stuttered out as a blushed formed on his face while the prince circled the two and felt them up obliviously.  
As soon as the guard at told him where Wonshik was sent all lustful actions halted and one thought entered Hongbin’s mind. Taekwoon. Wonshik had been sent to Taekwoon. As quickly as his clothes would currently allow him to Hongbin weaved his way passed the standing conspirators. His pace picking up as he brushes passed Hakyeon, only pausing to grab a hold of the other and pulling him along towards the winding stairs. He forgot to warn his blind lover about the first few steps and the other’s tripping slowed them down by a few notches. It took a long while but eventually they had made it up the surprisingly unguarded tower and a cell door wide open. That gut feeling that something had happened. That something horrible had happened there. The same feeling he got when he had entered Bangtan for the first time. Cautiously Hongbin found himself pushing Hakyeon behind him and entering the cell.  
“Taekwoon?” Hongbin half whispers as he takes a few steps in and is met with the same horrible scent and scene Wonshik was met with. Soon Hongbin’s eyes are locked with Taekwoon.  
Taekwoon quickly sprang to his feet and backed himself as far away as his shackles would allow him to go. He stared at Hongbin with hurt in his eyes as he brings his hands up to cover his mouth and tears begin to stream down his face.  
“Taekwoon hun?” Hongbin could barely hear the whisper of Hakyeon as the blind servant carefully uses the wall of the cell to make his way towards the prisoner, reaching blindly out with his other hand towards the sound of the jiggling chains. Hongbin has to fight the urge to pull him back to safety behind him and was just about to reach forward when a yell could be heard from behind.  
“What the fuck are you two doing in here?!” The annoyingly authoritative tone of his brother yelled at them, causing Hongbin to whip his head around just as Hakyeon falls right into Taekwoon’s arms.  
“How the hell can you let him live like this?” Hongbin found himself countering “You can barely breath in this room without dust clogging your nose or the stink of feces ruining your appetite… not that you would know anyway. “  
“I sent people to clean here everyday!” Jaehwan argued back “Do not blame me for the fact that it didn’t get done Blame your lover. Wonshik told me what he does.”  
“What the hell do you mean by that?” Hongbin snaps  
“All this dust are people that he killed! He killed our people Hongbin. Can you honestly still love him? He killed Bangtan with just his voice. He killed all those people who’ve been missing” Jaehwan says in desperation for Hongbin to understand “And we just kept sending more to their doom. It is no wonder no one wants to come here.”  
“Taekwoon wouldn’t-”  
“Wouldn’t what? Wouldn’t do that? Open your eyes Hongbin. I mean I know you’re in love with the blind but come on. Your people are in danger.”  
Hongbin slowly turns his head to look at Taekwoon again and the other had already let go of Hakyeon. He pushed Hakyeon away and the servant was currently sitting on the floor with a look of surprise and disbelief on his face. A feeling of protectiveness flooded Hongbin’s senses when he saw that Hakyeon was on the floor but then he looked closely at Taekwoon. Taekwoon who had tears streaming down his face and was biting down on his dirt covered hand to stop himself from…. From what? What was he trying to stop himself from? Screaming?   
The man was so silent as his chains jingled against him while his shoulders shake. He looked pitiful.  
It was in this moment that Hongbin had reached his conclusion. Even if his whole kingdom was against him he would not allow any harm to come to Taekwoon or Hakyeon.   
“The people are yours Jaehwan” Hongbin says and picks up a key from a dust pile “Taekwoon is mine. And I will not allow you to harm anything that is mine.”  
As he spoke he grabs a hold of Taekwoon’s chains and frees him from his prison. Hakyeon slowly stands from his spot on the floor and grabbed a hold of Hongbin’s cloak while the prince lead both him and Taekwoon out of the cell, brushing passed his brothers shoulders as he leaves. He doesn’t even say goodbye to his only family as he and his lovers make their way down the tower and out of the castle.

One Month.   
It’s been one month since Sanghyuk had left the castle and took to being on his own. He was slightly starting to regret it. His supply of potions were running extremely low and his hunger was getting even more ravenous. He’s tried to feed his bottomless pit of a stomach in other ways, having learned that gluttony is not always about food. He’s trained himself to learn as much as he could in the month he has been gone but it seemed even that did not save him from destroying beautiful places with his starved mind.   
He left with fifty potions  
He now has three  
He left with a surplus of ingredients to make more of the potions  
He now only has enough left for one.  
Sanghyuk hoped he would be able to find the witch soon.   
He was growing tired now.  
Perhaps it was time to set up camp.   
Not that he actually did. He was too tired to care, too hungry too, so he just laid himself down in the middle of the clearing using his arms as pillows and hugged his precious bag tightly to his chest before drifting into a light slumber.  
He could hear something approach him and laughter coming from over head but again he did not care for it.  
Until a hand wrapped itself around his mouth and a voice he could never forget whispered in his ear.  
“Dear sweet Gluttony. You’re mine now”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  A/N Sorry this took so long to come out. Midterms happened and I lost my job. Anyways hope this is good please R&R. Your comments motivate me to continue. And thank you Dragonnie for always editing for me. I know it's still not the best grammar wize but they do so much for me and without them I would not be brave enough to post this story.

    
       Taekwoon couldn’t believe that Hongbin had just done what he did. He struggled each step of the way down the stairs as Hongbin tugged him along and Hakyeon trailed behind with his hand wrapped around the dirty cloth that covered Taekwoon’s body. It was only a few steps out of the gate where their silent stewing anger finally became unmuted an Hongbin let out a deep sigh before pullin Taekwoon into a deep kiss and than doing the same for Hakyeon.

“Ok so we need to take a detour” Hongbin mutters more to himself than anything after pulling away “Man I should have really planned this out more…. We need weapons and clothes…. And… What else do we need? Food right food…. Hakyeon… Uh…”  
“Yes I can go forging Hongbin” the servant says with an eye roll and a blush on his dark features, as he crosses his arms and walks in a random direction  
“Tree!” Hongbin tried to say in warning but the blind man quickly hit the tree dead on and fell backwards, causing both him and Taekwoon to wince internally at the sound. The silent knight quickly went to pick up the servant.  
“Taek… you can go with him” Hongbin says with concern in his voice “Make sure he doesn’t trip or get plants we cannot eat”  
“Oh yeah? And what’ll you do?” Hakyeon grumbled as he was given a ‘babysitter’.

“I am going to go get Taek and I swords. So you know…. We can fight” the prince says as calm as he could “I’m sure there will be instances where Taekwoon can’t use his voice as we are near and such…”  
    Taekwoon couldn’t help but feel guilty about what he was making his… lovers, partners? Where they lovers now? Hongbin had called him his and then kissed him afterwards. And they did almost made love that one time after the two of them rescued him from Bangtan but maybe he was reading too much into the actions. He was just trapped inside of his head so there was no way he could get everything sorted out in time to actually question it. Who knows how long his silence will last now.

Silently his shoulders sagged as he tugged gently on Hakyeon so that they could hurry up and get the food they needed while Hongbin snuck back into the castle for clothes and weapons.  
“So…” he heard the servant say as they wandered the market area after sneaking back through the gates, luckily the news of what had happened in the castle has not spread to them and they were allowed graciously back in with their arms linked together.  
“Well… I know you cannot speak and such..” Hakyeon says “But I know…. Or well believe that Hongbin has some sort of feelings for you… He called you his.. And I am not trying to be greedy or anything. But he was mine first. And I am not too keen of sharing. Though. You are also fairly interesting and I want you…. But what happened in the forest was just me giving into what Hongbin wanted and I wanted control so… Either way….”  
    Taekwoon didn’t know what else the other was saying he continued to speak about matters he was unsure about. After Hakyeon had laid claim onto Hongbin he knew he had no chance in ever understanding what he felt. Slowly he broke away from Hakyeon in order to just get some space. He had felt confined next to him and just couldn’t bare it any more as he tries to disappear back to the start. Leaving Hakyeon behind in the crowd of the market. He walked until he made it back the the clearing outside of the gates and sat there with his head in his lap and his arms hugging his knees as he tries to breath again.  
Hongbin was not his  
Hakyeon had said so.  
Hongbin was in love with Hakyeon and the servant wasn’t letting him go nor could Taekwoon ever dream of getting close to a blind man, he had no way to communicate to the other anyways.  
    He did not know how many hours passed from the time Taekwoon had left Hakyeon to when he finally looked up again when the sound of footsteps stirred him from his mind.  
“Taekwoon” A deep voice that could only have belonged to Hongbin spoke to him kindly as he slowly looks up “Where’s Hakyeon?”  
Slowly the knight looks around and was about to point back to the castle walls when he was suddenly pinned to the ground and straddled by the prince. He gasps from the suddenness of it all and a hand quickly covered his mouth as the orange tint of the sky illuminated the dagger in Hongbin’s hand.  
“Do not make me regret breaking you out Taekwoon” Hongbin said, his voice obviously sadden like even how threatening he was trying to be hurt him more than it was hurting Taekwoon. “Where is-”  
“I can not Believe you just left me like that!” A voice interrupt the interrogation as Hakyeon walks into the clearing with a large amount of food in a wool bag. He walked until he reached a tree and then through his bag at it before continuing to scold it angrily. While he was scolding the tree Taekwoon could visibly see Hongbin relax as he watches Hakyeon with an expression Taekwoon could not quite comprehend. Tears were already forming in the knight’s eyes as he realized that perhaps the one who had claimed him did not trust him. The one who had rescued him from both of his hells and he had nearly allowed himself to love feared him. He feared him and his cursed voice and felt more concern for the blind servant that himself. Taekwoon did not know why this realization angered him but he quickly shoved Hongbin off of him in his rage and glared harshly at the prince who had up righted himself in the time it took for Taekwoon to fully stand again.

    A strange, sudden and tensed breeze solidified the silently conflict Taekwoon and Hongbin were having as Hakyeon’s scolding grew quiet. A dark shape shadowed over-head with a speed too fast to be a cloud but the object was too large to be any type of non-flightless bird. A roar of an unknown creature sounded around them seemingly conveying Taekwoon’s own pent up thoughts,emotions, confusion and frustration as he steadies himself and tries to calm his emotions down again.

 

 

    The roar of the beast seemed to have stirred something in the servant and the prince as both realised the wrong they have done to their dear knight as guilt falls across their face, Hongbin for making Taekwoon cry and Hakyeon for scaring the other with what he had said before.  
    “Taek-” Hongbin starts to say drawing attention from Hakyeon who realised what he was talking to was probably not Taekwoon at all but a tree. The servant seemed embarrassed by this slowly approaches the area where he had heard Hongbin speak.  
“Leo” the prince says like using that pet name he was given was going to change anything and slowly the servant started to put the pieces together, from the sounds  of sniffling coming from what he assumed was their silent knight. The consequences of his actions slowly creeping up on him as he tries to reach towards the sounds only to have them dodge his hand entirely, he was sure he reached towards the right area.  
“Taekwoon” Hakyeon says sadly “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have said what I said. I wasn’t in the right to do that and mess with your emotions… I… I am so sorry Taekwoon.. I just… I needed to make sure”  
“Make sure of what?” Hongbin asks obviously confused by the whole thing while still trying to figure out a way to get back on Taekwoon’s good side.  
“I…” Hakyeon tries to explain as he listens to the rustle of leaves “I was trying to figure out how he felt about you… about us… I didn’t think that it would affect him so much that he would… well leave me in the market place… I’m really sorry Taekwoon… I love you and I want you to be with us just as much as Hongbin does too. I just… It’s hard to tell what goes through your head for me. Cause you can’t speak and that’s ok. I know you are just protecting us.-”  
    Hakyeon’s ramblings get cut off suddenly as he gasps loudly as if he had seen something. With surprising accuracy Hakyeon reached towards Taekwoon again as his eyes glowed a golden sheen and wipes away the tears that were brimming from Taekwoon’s own.  
“Taekwoon…. You……. You are beautiful Taekwoon” Hakyeon says surprising all of them “Would you please forgive me for not seeing your true colors earlier… For getting jealous when Hongbin made motion towards you and trying to scare you away of what you are already afraid of…. I’m… I’m sorry Taekwoon….”

     He trails off again as his eyes grew heavy and dull while his hands continue to caress Taekwoon until he was too tired to keep them open any more and fell asleep on top of the knight. A rustling sound could be heard as a white tail disappears into the shrubbery.

 

 

    Hongbin, who had been watching this entire spectacle unfold, was quite caught off guard by Hakyeon’s eyes turning golden and seemingly been able to see. Taekwoon looked a bit unsure as Hakyeon literally clings to him as a pillow. He knew there was no way of getting the servant off when he found something warm and cuddly so Hongbin couldn’t do anything to help Taekwoon in that moment.  
“Taekwoon” Hongbin says softly and moves to sit next to the stuck knight “What did Hakyeon say to you to make you upset?”  
Silence greeted Hongbin as he sighs, the knight didn’t even attempt to write down what was wrong in the dirt or sign to him.  
“I’m sorry for assuming things Taekwoon” Hongbin continues after realizing he was not going to get a response, though at the apology the knight curled inward from a wince. “I shouldn’t have done that. And i would have acted the same way if you were the one missing too and Hakyeon was here.”

Taekwoon gave him a pointed look of annoyance along with an eye roll that perfectly conveyed what he wanted the prince to know.

“Ok maybe not point a sword at him, cause he’s blind and wouldn’t see it. But I still would have pinned him down and tried to get him to speak to me. To tell me where you were so I could have gone and found you”

Another bland look was given to him as his eyes roll again.  
“I would have Taekwoon” the prince insists “You guys are important to me. Extremely important to me. More important than anyone ever. I would not have thrown my position away like I did if you were anyone else. Taekwoon I really want you to be mine. You and Hakyeon. Both are mine. Is that too… greedy of me to ask?”  
    With a slow shake of his head Taekwoon answers the question with a loud silent sigh and leans on Hongbin slowly while Hakyeon continued to cuddle him. Seeing the opportunity he was given Hongbin quickly took advantage of their closeness and kissed Taekwoon as gently as he was able to when he cannot feel the area he is kissing on. Slowly he pulled away from the kiss and rested his forehead on top of Taekwoon’s gently.  
“You’re my knight and my damsel Leo~” he says in a lustful tone as his hands gently trail above the area Hakyeon was hugging, feeling the scars and well tone muscles “I will protect you no matter what happens. You are not alone.”

 

 

    Jaehwan slowly collapsed onto the ground mere minutes after his brother had left him. He didn’t know what to do about the sudden loss of his longest and most trusted friend, his only family besides their estranged mother, he could hear the guards whispering about going out their to find him and kill the beast who corrupted the prince and his servant but with one quick glare from Jaehwan they were silenced. It was strange to get a glare from the usually bubble man but when he does it can chill anyone to the bone faster than liquid nitrogen.  
“You are not to go after him” He says as much as it broke his heart to say that “He’s made his choice and I shall not allow any prince be trapped here against their will. Especially him. We cannot afford to lose any more men. Focus your energy on rebuilding our defense.”  
    With quick nods the guards quickly left the scene in the tower and Jaehwan soon followed them, taking time to stop at every family portrait that lined the halls to his chambers, to where Wonshik was waiting for him. The man he knew wouldn’t leave him, not that he couldn’t at any given time. He stared at the painting of him his brother and his father all crowded around each other. No one was smiling. It was not a happy day that the portrait had taken place. Mother insisted of having it drawn as Hongbin was already so young and Jaehwan was only a little older, she had probably thought their father would’ve died in the battle that happened for months after it. It was a good thing she was wrong, that is until he had passed when he ate that red mystery stolen from the barbarians as spoils. Tomato he believed Junghwan had called them. Apparently poisonous.

    With a sigh he hangs his head down low and slowly enters his chambers once again, quickly pulled into a tight hug by his lover who showered him with kisses before pulling away slowly so they could speak.  
“I thought I had lost you” Wonshik signs with hands that were shaking wildly “When… I woke and you were not here I thought he had gotten to you… And… and because of my curse I cannot be killed…”  
    With calm eyes Jaehwan pulled Wonshik into a reassuring kiss before explaining to his lover what had happened.  
“He doesn’t want to kill Hongbin or Hakyeon” Jaehwan explained “So he had stayed silent… I’m so sorry you had to see what you did… I should have notice something sooner than I did and I should have never sent you up there with that guard… Can you forgive me my love?”

    It took a while but with a small nod of conformation coming from Wonshik he knew the other never blamed him for anything as they cuddled closely together, ignoring the strange rope in the corner of the darkened room. The two slowly fell asleep in eachothers arms just glad one another was their to support themselves.

 

 

    Sanghyuk slept in the cold dry cell the witch had him locked in. The chains rattled with each breaze the flew in through the window and the halls echoed with loneliness and misunderstandings. Glowing eyes stared at the chef through the bars of his cage. Into his soul and through his memories he dreamed. Of food. All you can eat no matter where you wanted it or needed it. All the knowledge in the world took a hold of him. This was his home. He felt full here. Like he didn’t want to  leave even though the creeping feeling that something was wrong and not right in this world. But he was full and that was all he cared for in that moment.

 

 

    “Jaehwan!” A man came crashing into the king’s chamber at an unholy hour of the day, quickly stirring the king from his deep slumber and causing him to glare at the man angrily.  
“What is it Junghwan?” the king says in a tired voice to his loyal physician.  
“I found out the spell the witch used!” Junghwan says quickly, this causing Jaehwan to shoot right out of his bed, and comforting hold, to go and see what the physician was talking about.  
“For you she… or they-”  
“No it’s a woman. I saw her when I was taken.”  
“Well she used Κενοδοξία and Acedia in the spell as well as Odoratus and Fessum… The first words I said were the sins she cursed you with. The last two were what she took away from you. Or well- gave you. She took away your sense of smell and gave you exhaustion. But the spell that she used also had her give you all animal guides… of some kind. I believe, based on where the mark is, she gave you bjǫrn, or bear, and λέων, or lion. Though I do not think she quite understood what the creatures actually do. She was just listing off what goes with the sins, probably thinking that they would all give the sins have more control over you, which technically was is right. But, it also gives you more control. You can call upon your animals in time of need and they will be able to help you.”  
“What are the other’s animals?” Jaehwan curiously asked, trying to process what the physician had just thrown at him.  
“Wonshik’s animal is a serpent of some size probably, again based on the location of the mark. Hongbin’s is a ram based on his curse, Hakyeon’s is a fox and Sanghyuk’s is a boar. Taekwoon’s is most likely a dragon.”  
“Why have none of these animals shown up then?” Jaehwan asks, ignoring how the man who had captured his brother’s heart had the most powerful creature out of all of them.  
“They only come when one sin is in great need, according to this book at least. They take a while to appear. Mainly helping out in the shadows before deciding if their vessel is good enough for them to reveal themselves- As most magical spells that use ancient lore are like.” Junghwan states as though it was the most obvious as the most simple thing in the world.

“And how do we combat these curses? How do we get back to normal?” Jaehwan asked, ready to get his old life back now that he has Wonshik by his side. “I want my life back. I want my brother not to hate me and I want to eat a decent meal that Sanghyuk makes again.”  
“You have to kill the witch, my king.” Junghwan says simply, before packing up his books and getting ready to leave, “It’s late- I should go. You look tired my king. You should go get rest, after all you have a long day tomorrow.”  
    “Wait-” Jaehwan starts to say, the doors closing tightly behind the physician with a mysterious slam. He reaches out an arm in a weak attempt to reach the man who had dumped all of this information on him only to have his eyelids grow heavy and the room spun wildly around him before he fell with a soft thud. He felt what he landed on, the soft fur in his fingers as a soft roar croons in his ear, before something picks him up by the collar of his shirt and drops him on the bed gently. Sleep claims him once again, and it refuses to let go of his mind this time around.


End file.
